President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris say getting the pandemic under control is their number one priority. Their goals include increased testing, mask mandates in every state and a plan for distributing a future vaccine.

Dr. Céline Gounder, an epidemiologist at New York University and a member of Biden's coronavirus task force, said one of the most effective measures for curbing COVID-19 infections is wearing masks. She said the task force will be working on campaigns to de-politicize mask wearing in the coming weeks. 

Meanwhile, the number of cases in New York and New Jersey is on the rise, prompting officials in both states to enact new curfews for non-essential businesses.

Dr. Gounder weighed in on the restrictions, saying that the curfews won't help as much as temporarily closing indoor dining, gyms and nail salons. 

"And as part of that, we need to be addressing the needs of small business owners and their employees," she said. "This is very hard on them from an economic perspective and we need to be supporting them through that, so that they're not bearing the brunt of the financial burden of these closures." 

Click "Listen" for her conversation with WNYC's Sean Carlson on All Things Considered.