COVID complicating plans for inauguration

Striking a balance of pomp, safety is tricky

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris aim to take their oaths of office outside the U.S. Capitol building as inauguration planners seek to craft an event that captures the traditional grandeur of the historic ceremony while complying with COVID-19 protocols.

On Tuesday, Biden’s team released some broad details for the Jan. 20 event. One big unknown: Will President Donald Trump participate?

The president has not yet told current and former White House aides whether he will attend Biden’s inauguration.

Despite this week’s rollout of the new vaccine, its availability to the general public is still months away. So Biden’s team is urging supporters not to come to Washington, D.C., to celebrate the inauguration.

“The ceremony’s footprint will be extremely limited, and the parade that follows will be reimagined,” Biden’s inaugural committee said in a statement.

Biden said Friday that a “gigantic inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue” is unlikely, although a big reviewing stand is being constructed in front of the White House.

After the swearing-in ceremony, Biden will deliver an inaugural address that “lays out his vision to beat the virus, build back better and bring the country together,” the inaugural committee said.

The committee announced that

Dr. David Kessler, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, had been named as chief medical adviser for the inauguration.

“The pandemic is continuing to have a significant public health impact across the nation,” Kessler said. “We are asking Americans to participate in inaugural events from home to protect themselves, their families, friends and communities.”

As it seeks to retain some of the traditional touchstones of the event and imagine new pandemic-era aspects, the committee is turning to the same production team that handled this year’s Democratic National Convention. Features of that convention, such as the virtual roll call from every state, may be incorporated.

“I think you’re going to see something that’s closer to what the convention was like than a typical inauguration,” Biden said last week.

COVID-19 concerns should also alter the political mathematics of who sits where on the VIP platform, which would normally hold about 1,600 people. No firm decisions have been made yet, but organizers are looking into limiting that number.

Paige Waltz, a spokeswoman for the joint congressional committee charged with overseeing the event, said last week that lawmakers are considering requiring a COVID-19 test for anyone on the platform near the president-elect.