Day 1: Biden zeroes in on virus
Quick shift from Trump approach comes as U.S. passes 10 million cases
WILMINGTON, DEL.— U.S. president-elect Joe Biden signalled strongly on Monday that fighting the raging pandemic will be the immediate priority of his new administration as the country surpassed 10 million COVID-19 cases, an abrupt shift from President Donald Trump’s more unworried approach to the virus.
Biden began with a direct appeal to all Americans to wear masks, a departure from Trump, who has mocked Biden and others who make a point of always wearing protective face coverings when around others. In an official move, the president-elect formed a coronavirus advisory board dominated by scientists and doctors, while Trump has had a falling out with the medical experts on his own virus task force.
The swift actions come at a critical moment in the U.S. effort to combat the coronavirus. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced progress with its vaccine trial, helping send financial markets soaring. But surging caseloads, including new infections among leading figures in Trump’s administration, offered a fresh reminder that the country is still in the grip of the worst pandemic in more than a century.
“The challenge before us right now is still immense and growing, and so is the need for bold action to fight this pandemic,” Biden said after being briefed on the virus. “We are still facing a dark winter.”
He called on Americans to separate politics from the virus and embrace mask-wearing.
“We could save tens of thousands of lives if everyone would just wear a mask for the next few months. Not Democratic or Republican lives, American lives,” Biden said. “Please, I implore you, wear a mask.”
Over the past two weeks, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has risen nearly 65 per cent. The seven-day rolling average for daily new cases in the U.S. went from 66,294 on Oct. 25 to 108,736.7 on Sunday. In the past week, one of every 433 Americans was diagnosed with COVID-19, and hospitals in several states are running out of space and staff.
Throughout his ultimately unsuccessful campaign, Trump insisted the country was “rounding the corner” on the coronavirus and that a vaccine was imminent even as infection rates grew. The president, who has yet to publicly acknowledge Biden’s victory, seized on Pfizer’s announcement and the positive reaction in financial markets.
“STOCK MARKET UP BIG, VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90% EFFECTIVE. SUCH GREAT NEWS!” he tweeted.
The White House task force, which includes the federal government’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has been diminished in recent months as Trump grew impatient with efforts to slow the virus that were having a deleterious effect on the economy.
The advisory board that Biden announced on Monday includes doctors and scientists who have served in previous administrations, many of them experts in public health, vaccines and infectious disease.
It will be led by former surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner David Kessler and Yale University public health care expert Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.
Rick Bright, a vaccine expert and former head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, is also on the board. He had filed a whistleblower complaint alleging he was reassigned to a lesser job because he resisted political pressure to allow widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug pushed by Trump as a COVID-19 treatment.
Public health officials warn that the nation could be entering the worst stretch yet for COVID-19 as winter sets in and the holiday season approaches, increasing the risk of rapid transmission as Americans travel, shop and celebrate with loved ones.
“We could save tens of thousands of lives if everyone would just wear a mask for the next few months.” JOE BIDEN PRESIDENT-ELECT