'I would shut it down': Biden says if scientists recommended, he would lock down country to curb COVID-19
WASHINGTON – Democratic nominee Joe Biden said that if he were president, he would shut the country down to stop the spread of the coronavirus, if that were recommended by scientists.
“I would be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives, because we cannot get the country moving until we control the virus. That is the fundamental flaw of this administration’s thinking to begin with,” the former vice president told ABC News' David Muir in a clip of an interview released Friday.
“I would shut it down. I would listen to the scientists,” he said.
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Biden’s comments are the strongest he has proposed to squash the spread of COVID-19 – which has infected over 5.6 million and killed at least 175,000 people in the U.S. as of Friday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University.
“I would shut it down; I would listen to the scientists,” @JoeBiden told @davidmuir Friday of the country, to stop the spread of COVID-19, in his first joint interview alongside his running mate, @KamalaHarris.
pic.twitter.com/P6TdzMjJ1t— Molly Nagle (@MollyNagle3) August 21, 2020
He continued that "in order to keep the country running and moving and the economy growing, and people employed, you have to fix the virus, you have to deal with the virus.”
In his Democratic convention speech Thursday, where he accepted the party's nomination, Biden said getting control of the virus would be his first task if elected.
"As president, the first step I will take will be to get control of the virus that's ruined so many lives," Biden stated. "Because I understand something this president doesn't. We will never get our economy back on track, we will never get our kids safely back to school, we will never have our lives back, until we deal with this virus."
President Donald Trump has resisted calls for shutting down again, despite deadly spikes in COVID-19 cases in many states this summer.
Trump, and members of his administration, have staunchly insisted a new shutdown would only harm the economy.
"We won't be closing the country again. We won't have to do that,” Trump stated in June during an interview on Fox News.
More than 57 million workers now have filed for unemployment over the past 22 weeks.
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Federal law allows Washington to impose quarantines in some circumstances and limit travel between states, but the Trump administration has not invoked those powers. States currently retain the power to decide who stays home, and for how long.
Across the U.S., governors have rolled out a patchwork of constantly evolving plans to relax social distancing restrictions and reopen their states. At the height of restrictions in the spring, more than 310 million Americans were under directives ranging from “shelter in place” to “stay at home.”
Health officials warned that easing these restrictions too soon would bring new outbreaks, but many states forged ahead.
The Biden interview, which will air Sunday, will be the first joint broadcast interview with his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.
Biden and Harris have previously called on governors to issue mandatory mask orders after receiving a briefing from health officials.
Contributing: Kevin Johnson, John Fritze, Rebecca Morin, Paul Davidson, Bart Jansen
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Biden says he'd lock US down if scientists recommend it
