President-elect Joe Biden.Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP/Shutterstock
The inaugural committee for President-electJoe Bidenwill host a national memorial to remember those lost to the novel coronavirus next month, just one day before the former Vice President’s inauguration.
“On January 19, we will host a memorial to honor those who have died, with the first-ever lighting around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool,” the statement reads.
On Wednesday, Bidencriticized the Trump administration’s handlingof the COVID-19 pandemic, and its slow rollout of the novel coronavirus vaccines.
In remarks delivered from Wilmington, Delaware and livestreamed online, Biden laid out his own plan to combat the virus in his first 100 days in office.
That plan will include invoking the Defense Production Act to boost production of materials needed to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, and asking the American people to wear face masks for the first 100 days he’s in office.
Organizers have said that Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration will be 75-80 percentvirtual, in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, cases of which are spiking across the country.
In a statement sent to the press Thursday, the inaugural committee’s communications director, Pill Tobar, said the inauguration “represents the beginning of a new national journey,” albeit one set against a grim backdrop.
More than 344,000 American deaths have been attributed to the novel coronavirus as of Thursday, according to aNew York Timestracker.
Both Biden and Vice President-electKamala Harrishave received theirfirst dosesof coronavirus vaccines.
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source: people.com
