Harris: nationwide mask mandate wouldn’t carry punishment

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris says a nationwide mask mandate that she and her running mate, Joe Biden, have endorsed for weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic wouldn’t use punishment to ensure compliance.  “It’s really a standard. I mean, nobody’s gonna be punished. Come on,” the California senator laughed when asked about how to enforce such a rule during an interview that aired Friday on NBC’s “Today.” “Nobody likes to wear a mask. This is a universal feeling. Right?” Biden and Harris have worn protective face masks in public and stayed socially distanced from each other when appearing together at campaign events. Both have said for weeks that a rule requiring all Americans to wear them could save 40,000 lives in just a three-month period.