Biden Calls For Nationwide Protective Mask Mandate -- The Right Thing

Leadership demands integrity and accountability. Listening to reasonable instructions for the collective good is paramount in defeating COVID-19. This compliance is crucial in saving lives during the pandemic, as the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention national ensemble forecast predicts that 4,200 to 10,600 new COVID-19 deaths will be reported during the week ending September 5, 2020, and that 180,000 to 200,000 total COVID-19 deaths will be reported by that date.

(“COVID-19 Forecasts: Deaths.” Centers For Disease Control and Prevention August 13, 2020.)

Facing those bleak statistics, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is calling for a nationwide protective mask mandate, citing health experts’ predictions that it could save as many as 40,000 lives from coronavirus over the next three months. 

Biden says …

”Wearing the mask is less about you contracting the virus. It’s about preventing other people from getting sick. This is America. Be a patriot. Protect your fellow citizens. Step up, do the right thing. Every single American should be wearing a mask when they’re outside for the next three months at a minimum – every governor should mandate mandatory mask wearing.”

(Alexandra Jaffe and Will Weissert. “Biden Calls for Nationwide Mask Mandate.”

U.S. News. August 13, 2020.)

"It’s not about your rights, it’s about your responsibilities," Biden said. Though Biden has previously called for nationwide mask-wearing mandates, that he would use his second ever event with running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, to reiterate the message underscores the role the pandemic is likely to pay in his campaign.

Trump's Resistance

President Trump continues to speak dismissively of the rampant coronavirus threat. He continues to falsely attribute the country’s soaring Covid-19 caseloads to an increase in testing nationwide and scolds the media for using “Cases to demean the incredible job being done by the great men & women of the U.S. fighting the China Plague!”

Trump did say at a press briefing on August 12 that his administration was sending 125 million reusable masks to school districts across the nation. He now urges Americans to wear masks but has opposed the idea of a national requirement and declined to wear one for months. He has worn one on occasion more recently.

On August 12, when the U.S. reported 1,499 new coronavirus deaths, the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in a single day since May, Trump pushed for schools and businesses to continue opening, and called for college football to go on despite several leading leagues' leaders deciding to cancel this year’s season.

Others in the Trump administration – including top health officials – have also contributed to the lack of leadership during the pandemic. Back in early July 2020, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said he does not support a nationwide mask mandate, believing that such a requirement would “spark rebellion.” According to Adams …

"Here's the challenge, if you make something mandatory, particularly for the younger age groups we are talking about, many of them will rebel and do the exact opposite. I think it's more important from a health perspective we help people understand why these are important and we help them understand why they benefit from wearing them."

(Connor Perrett. “US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said he is against a nationwide mask mandate because it would be counterproductive and cause rebellion.”

Business Insider. July 4, 2020.)

General Adams is the same man who posted a tweet on February 29 urging people not to buy masks. Then, in early April Adams reversed his guidance after doctors learned more about how easily coronavirus spreads without symptoms.

And still, now, despite his lack of enthusiasm for a nationwide mandate, Adams advocates for the widespread adoption of masks as a tool to reduce asymptomatic spread, arguing things like college football couldn't return in the fall without it.

"If you want prom next year, please wear a face covering, it could prevent asymptomatic spread and help us overcome this virus," Adams said.

(Holly Yan. “Want to prevent another shutdown, save 33,000 lives and protect yourself? Wear a face mask, doctors say.” CNN. June 29, 2020.)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says everyone "should wear a cloth face cover when they have to go out in public.” The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, strongly urges the public to wear face masks. And, four major medical and health organizations that work with and for people with all kinds of breathing problems – the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Lung Association, the American Thoracic Society and the COPD Foundation – agree.

In addition, a review of 172 observational studies published earlier this June in The Lancet also concluded that wearing face masks or coverings can help curb the risk of coronavirus infection and transmission.

(Derek K Chu, MD et al. “Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” The Lancet. June 01, 2020.)

Lack of Confidence

The Protect Our Care poll found that 57% believe Trump is increasing the chances that many more people will die from the coronavirus, and 53% – including a fourth of Republicans – think Trump is pushing states to re-open so he can improve his own re-election chances, the poll found.

(“Donald Trump Is Defined by His Failure on Coronavirus, and the Economic News Won’t Save Him.” Protect Our Care. Hart Research. June 22-28, 2020.)

The poll also found that even voters who approve of Trump on the economy disapprove of his work on the coronavirus and rate his overall job performance negatively, by 75% to 25%.

The leader of our nation must act decisively with great understanding. Being prepared means being ready to spring into action, “so that when something like this happens, you’re moving quickly,” says Ronald Klain, who coordinated the U.S. response to the West African Ebola outbreak in 2014. Klain explains: “By early February, we should have triggered a series of actions, precisely zero of which were taken.”

Under Trump, the U.S. has a seat on the WHO’s executive board, but left that position empty for more than two years, only filling it this May, when the pandemic was in full swing.

Ed Yong of The Atlantic reports …

“Since 2017, Trump has pulled more than 30 staffers out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s office in China, who could have warned about the spreading coronavirus. Last July, he defunded an American epidemiologist embedded within China’s CDC. America First was America oblivious.

“Even after warnings reached the U.S., they fell on the wrong ears. Since before his election, Trump has cavalierly dismissed expertise and evidence. He filled his administration with inexperienced newcomers, while depicting career civil servants as part of a “deep state.” In 2018, he dismantled an office that had been assembled specifically to prepare for nascent pandemics.

“American intelligence agencies warned about the coronavirus threat in January, but Trump habitually disregards intelligence briefings. The secretary of health and human services, Alex Azar, offered similar counsel, and was twice ignored.”

(Ed Yong. “How the Pandemic Defeated America.” The Atlantic. August 04, 2020)

Leadership? Trump has led a botched public health response. The Trump administration’s past actions weakened the United States’ ability to respond to the pandemic, and its current actions continue to exacerbate the dual public health and economic crises. There is little or no credibility to Trump's claims of doing everything he could to stop the deadly virus.

The failures of the Trump administration’s approach did not begin when the pandemic started. They took root long before. And, even now, amid one of the worst public health crises in recent American history, the acting director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget has doubled down on the White House’s FY 2021 proposed budget cuts of $1.2 billion to the CDC and $35 million to the Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund.

(Ryan Zamarripa 5 Ways the Trump Administration’s Policy Failures Compounded the Coronavirus-Induced Economic Crisis.” Center For American Progress. June 03, 2020.)

Here is the choice for Americans as leaders wrestle with COVID-19:

A rebellion by youth over a mask mandate? Trump's excuse of “wanting people to have a certain freedom”? Denial? Taking a stand against authority?

Versus

Acting in the common good by preventing people from being sick, stopping the rapid spread of the pandemic, and potentially saving the lives of tens of thousands of people.

There is little doubt about the course of action for a true patriot. A little inconvenience is all that is required for compliance. For the sake of the nation, a nationwide protective mask mandate should go into effect immediately. The safety of millions is in jeopardy. The mask is the vital seat belt against the spread of deadly COVID-19.