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COVID-19 is upending another American tradition: the presidential inauguration.
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be dispensing with the pomp and circumstance on Jan. 20 for what the Presidential Inaugural Committee says will be a limited ceremony, with the public urged to stay home.
Biden and Harris will both take their oaths of office at the U.S. Capitol, but the idea is to go small, not big, as the pandemic keeps its grip on the country, even as the first vaccines are rolling out.
“The ceremony’s footprint will be extremely limited, and the parade that follows will be reimagined,” the committee said Tuesday. “The PIC is urging the public to refrain from any travel and participate in the inaugural activities from home,” it said.
The committee also announced that Dr. David Kessler, a former head of the Food and Drug Administration, is joining it as chief medical adviser.
“We are asking Americans to participate in inaugural events from home to protect themselves, their families, friends and communities,” he said in a statement.
Biden’s inaugural address will include “his vision to beat the virus,” the committee said.
Also see: Fauci calls for quick vaccination of Biden and Harris.
