Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden said on the eve of Election Day that his plan to combat the coronavirus pandemic will not include a national lockdown or a nationwide mask mandate.
“[It] does not include a countrywide lockdown. I’m going to lock down the virus,” Mr. Biden told WESH-TV in Florida.
He also said he doesn’t have the power to institute a national mask mandate, which the former vice president had talked up earlier in the campaign.
Mr. Biden said he does have the authority to mandate mask-wearing on federal property and in interstate travel.
He said some Republican governors are being “smarter” than President Trump about combating the coronavirus.
“Like up in Ohio — Republican state,” Mr. Biden said, referring to Gov. Mike DeWine. “You have a governor up there taking responsibility.”
New daily coronavirus cases recently reached all-time highs in the U.S. heading into Election Day on Tuesday.
Mr. Biden is banking that voters will punish Mr. Trump at the polls for his handling of the pandemic.
Mr. Trump has defended the federal government response and says few, if any, people could have handled such an unprecedented situation better than he has.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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