President-elect Joe Biden has said he will ask Americans to wear masks for his first 100 days in office to curtail the spread of coronavirus.

He told CNN he believed there would be a "significant reduction" in Covid-19 cases if every American wore a face covering.

Biden also said he would order masks to be worn in all US government buildings.

The US has recorded 14 million cases and 275,000 deaths from Covid-19.

In the interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Biden said: "The first day I'm inaugurated to say I'm going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. Just 100 days to mask, not forever. One hundred days.

"And I think we'll see a significant reduction if we occur that, if that occurs with vaccinations and masking to drive down the numbers considerably."

Constitutional experts say a US president has no legal authority to order Americans to wear masks, but Biden said during the interview he and his Vice-President Kamala Harris would set an example by donning face coverings.

The president's executive authority does cover US government property, and Biden told CNN he intended to exercise such power.

"I'm going to issue a standing order that in federal buildings you have to be masked," he said.

He added: "Transportation, interstate transportation, you must be masked airplanes and busses, et cetera."

US airlines, airports and most public transit systems already require all passengers and workers to wear face coverings.

The Trump White House has rejected calls from American health experts to mandate masks in transportation as "overly restrictive".

In the CNN interview, Biden also said he would retain Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, as chief medical adviser to the new administration's Covid-19 team.

The Democratic president-elect said he would be "happy" to take a vaccine in public to allay any concerns about its safety.

Obama, Bush and Clinton pledge to film themselves getting Covid vaccine

Former US presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton have volunteered to have their Covid-19 vaccinations be publicly televised.

The trio of two Democrats and one Republican said they would get the jab once it has been approved by regulators and recommended by US health officials.

The move is intended to boost public confidence in the safety and efficacy of coronavirus vaccines.

Polls indicate large swathes of the US public are reluctant to get the jab.

A Gallup poll, conducted in October before the results of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine trials were released, showed roughly six in 10 Americans would be willing to take the vaccine, up from a low of 50% in September.

No vaccination has yet been approved in the US, but government regulators will be examining Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines in the coming weeks.

"I promise you that when it's been made for people who are less at risk, I will be taking it," Obama said in a SiriusXM radio interview on Wednesday.

"I may end up taking it on TV or having it filmed, just so that people know that I trust this science, and what I don't trust is getting Covid."

Representatives for Bush and Clinton told CNN that the former presidents, who have banded together in the past, pledged to take the vaccine "as soon as available" to them and urged all Americans to do the same.

Public health experts have said mass inoculation against the virus could result in herd immunity, an essential step in curbing the spread of the disease.

The public vaccinations may play into a broader awareness campaign once a vaccine is formally approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

In the UK, where the Pfizer vaccine has already been approved, the press secretary to Prime Minister Boris Johnson has suggested he may take the vaccine live on TV to convince others to get it too. (Source: BBC News)

Story Date: December 4, 2020