Biden vows he will not implement a nationwide shutdown

President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday said he would not implement a nationwide shutdown as part of his effort to control the spread of the coronavirus.

“I’m not going to shut down the economy, period. I’m going to shut down the virus,” Biden said. “I’ll say it again. No national shutdown.”

Biden on Thursday met with a bipartisan group of 10 governors to plot a path forward to address the resurgence of a virus that has killed more than 250,000 people in the U.S.

The president-elect said there was widespread agreement about getting economic relief to the states, delivering a free vaccine to everyone and providing additional funding for the National Guard.

Biden also said there’s support for a national mask mandate.

“We discussed the implementation of a national mask mandate — 10 governors, Democrats and Republicans, have imposed requirements and recognized the need for universal masking,” Biden said. “North, south, east and west. It’s not a political statement. It’s a patriotic duty.”