Biden Starts Strong with Mask-Up Call [Opinion]

Biden on Strong Start with Call to Americans to Mask Up and Defeat COVID-19

In a little over a month, Joe Biden will be inaugurated President in one of the world’s stirring displays of democracy.  The month since his victory has already shown that Biden is off to a good start particularly as it comes to fighting this pandemic and rallying Americans to wear protective face coverings.

What Joe Biden said in his opening transition planning speech on November 9 is a message everyone should heed:

“It doesn’t matter who you voted for, where you stood before Election Day.  It doesn’t matter your party, your point of view, we can save tens of thousands of lives if everyone would just wear a mask for the next few months.  Not Democrat or Republican lives, American lives.

“… So please, I implore you, wear a mask.  Do it for yourself.  Do it for your neighbor.  A mask is not a political statement, but it is a good way to start pulling the country together.”

Here in our area of California, face coverings are fortunately ubiquitous, although perhaps not as universally worn as they should be.  Among the measures we must take to help protect ourselves and those around us, they are some of the most simple and valuable tools we can all use.

Face coverings, combined with physical distancing and handwashing, can decrease risk by up to 95 percent.  They are key to preventing infections, and averting damage to health, well-being, lives and economic recovery.  It’s just good sense to do our part and wear face coverings.

So it was a positive sign last month when two U.S. Senators introduced a legislative effort to require face coverings nationwide.  Biden has signaled his intent to reach out to Republican governors to find cooperation and try to convince them to come around to the strong actions that are needed.

One area within the power of the chief executive is to require masks in federal buildings, which seems astounding it hasn’t been done.  Biden has pledged to do that after taking office, and that can make an immediate difference, although it shouldn’t have to wait that long.

These are all steps in the right direction in handling this crisis to bring it to an end as soon as possible.

On Thursday, Biden appealed to Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days in office.

That appeal ties together a spirit of sensibility, social responsibility and a spirit of greatness when we pitch in to meet a challenge.  It brings to mind the call to action from another inaugural address, that given by President Kennedy to ask what we can do for our country.

Let’s not wait until Biden’s term starts to step up and be part of the solution.

By all indications, Biden, whose presidential candidacy modeled the example to follow by wearing a face covering and adapting campaign practices to eschew unsafe crowds, is doing the right things to get this pandemic under control.

Generations today have never lived through times this hard, and we are now in the most difficult wave of the crisis to date.  It is vital we come together as one country to defeat COVID-19.