Former vice presidents and presidential election candidate Joe Biden on Thursday called for a nationwide mask mandate to fight the spread of the coronavirus disease.

"Every American should be wearing a mask when they're outside for the next three months at a minimum," Biden said in a Fox News report.

He added that the country should issue a nationwide mask mandate immediately, noting the estimates of saving over 40,000 lives in the next three months if it is done. The United States has over 167,000 COVID-19 deaths to date.

The former vice president said wearing a mask can also be effective in asymptomatic cases as they will not infect anyone if they cough, sneeze, or talk.

"When I get occasionally confronted with a person in public about wearing a mask, I say look, this is America, be a patriot. Protect your fellow citizens. Protect your fellow citizens. Step up. Do the right thing. Do the right thing," Biden said.

Currently, the U.S. has a total of 56,000 new cases and has reached over 5.25 million confirmed cases of COVID-19.

President Donald Trump has yet to call for a nationwide mask mandate.

Trump Says No

On Thursday, Trump has rejected the Democratic candidate's call for a nationwide mask mandate to fight the spread of coronavirus disease. He then accused Biden of politicizing the outbreak and disregarding science in fighting the disease.

Trump said it is a shameful situation for anybody to score political points while working to save lives and defeat the pandemic. However, the president favors the idea of allowing state governors to decide if they will impose a mask mandate in their respective states.

Trump added that they urged Americans to wear a mask and told them to wear it appropriately. He noted that he is "a believer in masks."

State Mask Mandate

Around 34 states have imposed a mask mandate to fight the spread of the coronavirus disease. Mississippi recently joined the list on August, requiring people to wear a face covering in public to prevent any spread of COVID-19.

Mississippi governor Tate Reeves said the number of cases is improving, but it does not mean that it is time to step back from its efforts to prevents its spread.

Reeves said they need to continue to work hard in fighting the further spread of COVID-19, saying that "if we can do the little things, it will make a huge difference."

Biden's Running Mate

Meanwhile, as November U.S. election nears, Biden has chosen Kamala Harris to be his running mate. This makes Harris the first Black and South Asian American woman to run on a major position in the U.S.

Harris' selection came after months of Biden's announcement that he was picking a woman to join his presidential run.

CNN reported that Biden was also inclined to consider Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois as his running mate.

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