Thursday, January 21, 2021
A "patriotic duty"
Biden orders a 100-day mask requirement
US President Biden is speeding up the fight against the corona virus. A few hours after his inauguration, he issued a temporary mask requirement for federal buildings and aircraft. In addition, 100 million vaccine doses are said to have been administered by the deadline.
In the fight against the corona pandemic, the new US President Joe Biden has ordered a mask requirement for the next 100 days at all locations within the federal jurisdiction. A few hours after he was sworn in on Wednesday, Biden signed an order to that effect in the White House. The obligation to wear mouth and nose protection extends to all areas in which the federal government has jurisdiction. Examples include federal government buildings, planes and trains, and buses that travel between states. All employees of the federal government are also obliged to do so.
Biden has made fighting the pandemic one of his most important immediate goals. The government of Biden's predecessor Donald Trump had only recommended wearing a mask. Trump was repeatedly criticized because he usually did without a mask and downplayed the danger of the corona virus. In a tweet after his own Covid 19 illness, Trump wrote: "Do not be afraid of Covid. Do not let it dominate your life."
On Tuesday, the death toll in connection with the pandemic in the United States had surpassed 400,000. According to the "New York Times", more than 24 million infections have been detected there since the first case in the USA became known about a year ago.
In the fight against the corona pandemic, Biden has proclaimed two other central goals in addition to the mask requirement for the first 100 days of his term: At least 100 million vaccine doses should be administered by the deadline and most schools should be able to reopen. Biden has repeatedly stressed that wearing a mask is a "patriotic duty" and not a political statement.
So far, vaccination of the population has made only slow progress. Biden wants to increase the pace quickly. To mitigate the economic consequences of the pandemic, Biden is planning a new stimulus package worth $ 1.9 trillion. This includes direct payments to citizens of $ 1,400 per capita, additional aid for small businesses and more support for the unemployed.
Biden's plans to fight the pandemic – money for his vaccination program, more corona tests or precautions in schools – are also to be financed. In a second step, Biden wants to pump money into the US economy over the longer term through an investment program, primarily through investments in the country's infrastructure. He wants to present the exact plans for this within the first 100 days.
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