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Agencies:

Wearing masks more Important than being a "Tough Guy": Joe Biden

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Friday that President Donald Trump's Coronavirus diagnosis shows the importance of taking the pandemic seriously, telling Americans that wearing masks is more important than being a "tough guy."

Biden's remarks as he campaigned in the battleground state of Michigan hours after testing negative twice for the virus, served as an implicit criticism of the Republican president. Trump has played down the deadliness of the virus for months, frequently eschews masks and has held campaign rallies of thousands with little social distancing.

Trump's illness put even greater attention on the novel Coronavirus pandemic a little more than four weeks before the November 3 election. The President was experiencing mild symptoms and will be off the trail indefinitely. The White House said Trump was being moved into a special suite at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for the next few days as a precautionary measure.

At a union hall in Grand Rapids, Biden said he and his wife, Jill Biden, were praying that Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, had a swift and full recovery. He delivered the entire speech while wearing a blue medical mask, a departure from prior events where he typically took off his mask before speaking.

"This is not a matter of politics," Biden said. "It's a bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously. It's not going away automatically."

Biden urged all Americans to follow scientific guidelines, including wearing masks, washing hands frequently and staying 6 feet apart. Health officials, including the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield have said masks are a crucial tool for slowing the spread of the virus.

"Be patriotic," Biden said. "It's not about being a tough guy. It's about doing your part."