Biden says he'd consider shutting U.S. down again, but growing number of nations won't

Joe Biden earlier this month gave a preview of his possible COVID-19 mitigation plan if he wins the White House in November, promising he would impose a nationwide lockdown throughout the U.S. if his scientific advisors recommended it. 

During an Aug. 23 interview with ABC News anchor David Muir, the Democratic presidential candidate said he would "shut [the country] down" if "the scientists" told him to do so. 

"I will be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives," he said, "because we cannot get the country moving until we control the virus."

That declaration, however, stands at odds with the stated goals of an increasing number of world governments. Although many public health officials believe the broad lockdowns of the last several months had positive effects on the transmission rate of COVID-19, an increasing number of world leaders are signaling that it is unlikely they will return to those policies, with officials instead advocating more targeted measures that might contain the virus without bringing society and the economy to a halt.