Joe Biden will today sign 10 executive orders to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed 400,000 Americans. On his first full day in the Oval Office, the new US President released a 23-page plan to tackle the virus, after yesterday signing an order mandating the wearing of masks on federal property.
He'll today authorise the use of disaster funds to help re-open schools and mandating the wearing of face coverings on planes and buses, officials said.
Biden has placed the pandemic at the top of a daunting list of challenges he faces in his administration's early days, including rebuilding a ravaged economy and addressing racial injustice.