January 22 The new President of the United States, Joseph Biden, signed 10 executive orders on the 21st concerning the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus epidemic, one of which requires people to wear masks at airports and on various public transportation.
The United States is the country with the worst COVID-19 epidemic in the world, with more than 24 million confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and more than 400,000 deaths, all of which are the highest in the world.
The introduction of a national epidemic prevention and control policy is Biden’s top priority after taking office.
Biden “boarded” at noon on the 20th and signed more than a dozen executive orders in the afternoon, one of which required people to wear masks and maintain social distancing in federal buildings.
Biden said “you can’t waste time” and “these [executive orders] are just the beginning.” On the same day, he urged state and local governments to also implement “mask orders” in their construction facilities, and called on the American people to insist on wearing masks for 100 days.
Biden signed a special “face mask order” on the 21st. The executive order stipulates that people must wear masks on certain types of public transportation at the airport.
These means of transportation include most rail trains, aircraft, ships and intercity buses.
The Associated Press interprets that the “face mask order” issued by the federal government has a wide range of coverage, and people have little space to “take advantage of loopholes”.
Previously, some people refused to wear masks in public on the grounds of violating their personal freedom.
“We ask every American to do their part, and defeating the virus requires national synergy,” said Jeffrey Zinz, a White House official who coordinates the national response to the pandemic.
In addition, the Biden administration has set multiple targets for epidemic prevention and control.
These goals include: vaccinating 100 million people against the coronavirus within 100 days of Biden’s presidency; reopening and resuming offline teaching in most basic education institutions from kindergarten to junior high school within the same time; opening and operating 100 vaccination centers across the United States within one month; and launching special Door project, so that people can buy and vaccinate at local pharmacies.
The Biden administration also plans to set up a task force to ensure that groups such as minorities have access to adequate medical resources.
