Biden tells Trump to 'listen to the scientists' and calls for nationwide mask rule to prevent coronavirus spread

Griffin Connolly
·2 min read
Democratic presidential nominee has begun speaking at events with his mask on. (Getty Images)
Democratic presidential nominee has begun speaking at events with his mask on. (Getty Images)

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden offered his continued “prayers” for the recovery of Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, but admonished the president to “listen to the scientists” and “support masks” to help stem the tide of coronavirus in the US.

“Let me also say at the top, my prayers continue to be with the president and the First Lady for their health and safety. I, like so many American families who are dealing with Covid-19, was glad to see the president speaking and recording videos over the weekend,” Mr Biden said.

“Now that he's busy tweeting campaign messages, I would ask him to do this: Listen to the scientists. Support [wearing] masks. Support mandates nationwide. Require masks in every federal building facility and [in] interstate travel. Urge every governor to do the same. We know it saves lives,” the former Democratic vice president said.

Mr Biden, speaking in Miami's Little Havana on Monday, noted that Covid-19 has acutely has afflicted US latinos: Thirty-seven per cent of Americans who have died from the virus are Hispanic, far outpacing their proportion of the US population, he said.

“This pandemic has just helped us rip off the blinders in this country, and how inequitable so many things are. People didn't even realize until now that they've seen,” he said.

As cases of coronavirus at the White House continue to mount, Mr Trump announced via Twitter he will leave Walter Reed Medical Centre at 6:30pm on Monday.

Instead of urging Americans to take more precautions such as wearing masks, as some suspected he might do, the president said he was feeling “really good” and once again played down the threat of the disease that has killed more than 200,000 Americans over the course of eight months.

“Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!” the president wrote on his Twitter account on Monday.