COVID-19 measures among Biden’s first actions as president

WASHINGTON — During President Biden's first hours in office, he signed a flurry of executive orders, including measures to address the coronavirus pandemic.

The orders stipulate that:

• The United States will rejoin the World Health Organization.
• Masks will be required on federal property and by all federal employees. Biden is also starting the "100 days masking challenge," urging state and local officials to implement measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
• Jeffrey D. Zients was appointed to COVID-19 response coordinator.

Regarding the decision to rejoin the WHO, Youngstown City Health Commissioner Erin Bishop welcomes the change. She said, as a public health official, it was difficult to watch the United States pull out of the WHO.

“This is exciting for public health — that dedication to public health, getting more public health workers out there [and] getting more testing,” Bishop said.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Youngstown City Health District has struggled to set up local COVID-19 testing. It didn't establish its first testing site until July.

Now, between coronavirus testing and vaccinations, the health department does not have enough staff to do both. Bishop hopes the Biden administration follows through on the promise to make it possible to hire more workers.

Bishop said although Biden can’t enact a nationwide mask mandate, he can demonstrate the importance of wearing a mask and did so during the Inauguration ceremony.

Youngstown put a mandatory mask order in place on July 17. The city has experienced few issues with complaints about the mandate or about businesses not following guidelines.

“We’re very lucky here that our business and people do respect them and continue to wear their masks,” Bishop said.

Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Jim Kravec was unavailable Wednesday night to comment on Biden's executive orders, but Mercy Health released a statement, which stuck to public health talking points:

"Mask wearing, social distancing and frequent hand washing has been and remains the simplest way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. As our community begins to receive the much anticipated COVID-19 vaccine, these measures continue to keep our community safe and encourage, alongside other officials, our Valley to further practice these precautions," the statement read.

This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 4:52 AM with the headline "COVID-19 measures among Biden’s first actions as president."