U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 400,000 Day Before Biden?s Inauguration
President-elect Joe Biden will spend the night before his inauguration leading a ceremony to remember the lives lost from the virus.
By Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder, Staff Writer Jan. 19, 2021, at 2:47 p.m.
https://www.usnews.com/news/nationa...l-tops-400-000-day-before-bidens-inauguration
ON THE LAST FULL DAY OF President Donald Trump's administration and the day before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, the death toll from the coronavirus hit 400,000 in the U.S.
The grave milestone comes roughly a year after the first case of the virus was identified in the U.S. Now the country has the most cases and deaths of any nation by far, according to Johns Hopkins University.
A post-holiday surge in the U.S. has overwhelmed some hospitals, and experts expect the outbreak to get worse before vaccinations can offer some relief.
Biden has promised that the pandemic will be his top priority once he takes office. He plans to ask every American to wear a mask for his first 100 days in office and will deploy the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Guard to assist in vaccination efforts.
The former vice president will spend the night before his inauguration leading a ceremony to remember the lives lost from the virus. Four-hundred lights ? each meant to represent roughly 1,000 Americans who have died ? will be illuminated at the Lincoln Memorial, according to The New York Times.
While vaccinations in the U.S. got off to a slow start, Biden's incoming administration has said it is still possible to reach the president-elect's goal of 100 million vaccinations during his first roughly three months in office. According to a database from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 10.5 million people have received their first dose of the vaccine.
Trump on Monday lifted a travel ban on Europe and Brazil that was intended to slow the spread of the virus, but an official for the incoming Biden administration said the order would be rescinded.
"With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel," Jennifer Psaki, who will be Biden's White House Press Secretary, tweeted on Monday.
