Biden tells Trump to 'listen to the scientists' and calls for nationwide mask rule to prevent coronavirus spread

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden offered his continued “prayers” for the recovery of Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump from Covid-19, but admonished the president to “listen to the scientists” and “support masks” to help stem the tide of coronavirus in the US.

“Let me also say at the top, my prayers continue to be with the president and the first Lady for their health and safety. I, like so many American families who are dealing with Covid-19, was glad to see the president speaking and recording videos over the weekend,” Mr Biden said.

The former Democratic vice president wore a mask while he spoke on Monday, a departure from his previous protocol of wearing a mask up to the microphone at campaign events, but taking it off during his speeches.

“Now that he's busy tweeting campaign messages, I would ask him to do this: listen to the scientists. Support [wearing] masks. Support mandates nationwide. Require masks in every federal building facility and [in] interstate travel. Urge every governor to do the same. We know it saves lives,” Mr Biden said.

Mr Biden, speaking in Miami's Little Havana, noted that Covid-19 has acutely afflicted US latinos: 37 per cent of Americans who have died from the virus are Hispanic, far outpacing their proportion of the US population, he said.

“This pandemic has just helped us rip off the blinders in this country, and how inequitable so many things are,” he said.

As cases of coronavirus at the White House continue to mount, Mr Trump announced via Twitter he would leave Walter Reed Medical Centre at 6.30pm on Monday.

Instead of urging Americans to take more precautions such as wearing masks, as some suspected he might do, the president said he was feeling “really good” and once again played down the threat of the disease that has killed more than 200,000 Americans over the course of eight months.

“Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!” the president wrote on his Twitter account on Monday.

Mr Trump’s military physician said he is returning to the White House even though he "may not entirely be out of the woods yet" and will still receive powerful drugs once back at the executive mansion.

Dr Sean Conley again sidestepped a number of questions during what has become a daily update briefing, including when the president had his last positive coronavirus test and how the medical team could ensure Mr Trump would be safe quarantining at the White House.

Ms Trump, the First Lady, will also be quarantining at the White House.

The Navy doctor did not rule out that Mr Trump could soon return to the campaign trail: “About travel, we’ll see.”

Mr Trump was forced to cancel a series of events in the key swing states of Florida and Wisconsin over the weekend, and in Arizona on Monday and Tuesday.

That means the next presidential debate, scheduled for 15 October, is still on the table for both candidates.

Mr Biden has said he would debate Mr Trump later this month, even though the president has coronavirus, “if scientists say it’s safe.”

Just days before he and several top White House advisers tested positive for Covid-19 — including senior counsel Hope Hicks, debate prep adviser Chris Christie, and, most recently, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany — Mr Trump had been chiding Mr Biden, to his face, about wearing masks.

“I put a mask on when I think I need it,” Mr Trump said at the first presidential debate on Tuesday.

“I don't wear masks like him,” he said, nodding to Mr Biden. “Every time you see him he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away, and he shows up with biggest mask I've ever seen,” he said.

At the event in Miami on Monday, Mr Biden urged Floridians to register to vote. Monday is the deadline to register in the Sunshine State for the 2020 elections.

He also blasted Mr Trump’s policy on Cuba, saying the country just 90 miles south was “no closer to freedom and democracy than it was four years ago”.

Mr Biden has barely led Mr Trump in most polls in Florida over the course of the summer, but the race has tightened to within an average of 2 percentage points over the last two weeks, well within most polls’ margins of error, according to the RealClearPolitics aggregation of reputable public surveys.