Former Vice President
Joe Biden said on Tuesday that
President Trump is "supposed to lead by example" when it comes to wearing a mask and social distancing during the
Coronavirus pandemic, but has failed at both those things and keeping the death toll down.The
United States is close to reaching the grim milestone of 100,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths. During an interview with CNN's Dana Bash, Biden said it is as important as ever to stay safe by social distancing and wearing a face covering, as the COVID-19 threat is "not over."Biden then appeared to reference a recent report by Columbia University researchers, who found that if federal social distancing measures had been enacted nationwide just one week earlier in March, about 36,000 coronavirus deaths would have been prevented, with even more lives saved if they were released on March 1. The first imported case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was reported on Jan. 20, with community transmission following a few weeks later."One hundred thousand deaths and at least 35,000 to 50,000 were avoidable, but for a lack of attention and ego," Biden said.