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Joe Biden takes office as President of the United States on January 20. The event traditionally draws tens of thousands of people to Washington. That should be different this time, Biden announced.
The United States continues to record high corona numbers: More than 2,500 people die from Covid-19 every day. US President-designate Joe Biden is already working on a strategy against the pandemic. Now the democratic politician made it clear: due to the many new infections, his inauguration on January 20 will be less.
It is “highly unlikely” that a million people will attend the ceremony, Biden said at a news conference in Wilmington. “First of all, my goal is to protect America while allowing people to celebrate.” Biden said there could be a virtual event, as was the case with his Democratic conference this summer.
But he still can’t say exactly what the opening will look like in the end. Discussions are currently taking place with prominent members of Congress.
1.8 million people at Obama’s inauguration
New US presidents traditionally take the oath of office in January after elections in front of the Capitol, the parliament building in the capital, Washington. Barack Obama’s first inauguration, during which Biden was sworn in as vice president, drew more viewers in 2009 than any event before Washington. Then about 1.8 million people came. Under Donald Trump it was significantly lower in 2017, even if he later claimed otherwise.
Biden has shown the utmost caution in the crown pandemic. The spread of the virus remains out of control in the United States. According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 14.3 million infections have been detected since the pandemic began. The death toll is close to 280,000.
