Joe Biden to ask Americans to wear coronavirus mask for 100 days
US President-elect Joe Biden said he will ask Americans to wear face masks during their first 100 days in office to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Biden told CNN that he believes there may be a "significant reduction" in COVID-19 cases if all Americans cover their faces.
He also said that he will order masks to be worn in all government buildings.
The United States has registered 14.1 million cases and 276,000 deaths from Covid-19, the highest figures in the world.
Biden prepares to take office as pharmaceutical giants are set to ship millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines to Americans.
What did Biden say about masks?
"The first day I take office I'm going to ask the public to wear masks for 100 days. Just wear them for 100 days, it's not forever. One hundred days," Biden said in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper.
"And I think that if that happens we will see a significant reduction, if that happens with vaccines and masks the numbers could be reduced considerably."
The first 100 days of a new presidency are symbolically important in America.
And they are seen as an indicator of how the president will do things.
Constitutional experts say a US president has no legal authority to order Americans to wear masks, but Biden said during the interview that he and his vice president, Kamala Harris, would set an example by covering their faces.
The president's executive authority covers US government property, and Biden told CNN he intends to exercise that power.
"I am going to issue a permanent order that federal buildings must be wearing a mask."
"In transportation, interstate transportation, you have to cover your face, in airplanes and buses, etcetera," he added.
Airlines, airports, and most US public transportation systems already require all passengers and workers to cover their faces.
The Trump administration has rejected requests from US health experts to require the use of masks in transportation.
Those requests, he says, are "too restrictive."
What did Biden say about the vaccine?
The Democratic president-elect said he would be "happy" to be vaccinated in public to allay any concerns about his safety.
Three former presidents - Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton - have said they are also prepared to be publicly vaccinated to show that it is safe.
"People have lost faith in the ability of the vaccine to work," Biden said, adding that this is why "it matters what a president and vice president do."
