
At the beginning of Vice President Mike Pence's call with the nation's governors, he offered a full-throated endorsement of mask-wearing in public and social distancing as ways to reduce the spread of coronavirus — steps President Trump has stopped short of mandating on a national level.
Citing falling case counts in Arizona, Pence listed steps starting with masks that have helped improve the situation.
"What we have found is that masks, closing indoor bars, decreasing indoor dining capacity to 25%, continued social distancing and personal hygiene messaging are, according to the modeling, dramatically decreasing the rate of community spread," he said.
Those actions are "a clear example of transmitting science into action and proving this works," Pence said.
At the top of the call, Pence told governors they had the White House's "unqualified" support in taking steps to limit the spread of coronavirus.
"You have our full and unqualified support for the steps you are taking in your state," he said.
"At President Trump's direction, we are running a national response that is federally supported, state managed and locally executed," Pence said. "We are here to support the steps that you deem appropriate."
Pence highlighted efforts to send point-of-care testing kits to every nursing home in the US (something that's already been made public) and noted travel this week to South Carolina, Indiana and Massachusetts.
He said if governors felt it would be helpful for him or another member of the task force to travel to their state, they stood ready to move out.
"Having been a former governor, I know the value of, particularly, in educating the public about your efforts," he said. "We will be there and can move out very very quickly."