WASHINGTON — Joe Biden's first act as president-elect was to urge all Americans to wear masks, announcing Monday the formation of a new coronavirus advisory board that will consider a national mask mandate amid rising cases and deaths.
"It doesn't matter your party, your point of view," Biden said after receiving his first briefing from the group. "We could 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."
Unifying the country around a common pandemic plan, when it is still divided over the results of the 2020 presidential election, will be among Biden's greatest challenges entering the White House. Coronavirus cases have broken records nationwide and several states are at risk of reaching hospital capacity.
