Republican governors ignore Biden’s latest plea on mask mandates

President Joe Biden’s calls for America to remain on high alert against Covid-19 are meeting resistance from Republic governors (Evan Vucci/AP)

President Joe Biden’s pleas for states to stick with mask mandates to slow the spread of the coronavirus were being largely ignored on Tuesday as several Republican governors stayed on track to drop the requirement.

Mr Biden and the director of the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention said a day earlier this is no time to relax safety measures.