Joe Biden to call Governors, Mayors over mask mandates

US President elect Joe Biden

After US President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January 2021, he will call on Democratic and Republican Governors and Mayors from all across the country over enacting mask mandates in a bid to stem the raging COVID-19 pandemic, a senior adviser said.

"If a Governor declines, he'll go to the Mayors in the state and ask them to lead," adviser told NBC News on Sunday.

"In many states, there is the capacity of Mayors to institute mandates," he added.

Currently, about 20 US states already have mask mandates in place.

The development comes as Biden is scheduled to announce the names of scientists and other experts on his coronavirus task force on Monday.

According to the adviser, the President-elect is also looking at a possible mask mandate for federal buildings, which the incumbent administration of President Donald Trump was yet to enforce.

As the pandemic is still raging in the US unabated, the country currently accounts for the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths in the world.

On Monday, the caseload reached 9,972,333, while the death toll stood at 237,574.

Keep scrolling to read more news

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever