Assured of victory, Biden-Harris start focusing on public health and economy

Washington: Confident of their victory in the US presidential election, Democratic candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Senator Kamala Harris have begun working on the task ahead by focusing on two critical areas of public health and economy, both battered by the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
According to latest projections, Biden had 264 of the 538 electoral college votes up for grabs. He only requires another six electoral college votes to reach the magical number of 270, to be declared elected as the next US president.
While we’re waiting for the final results, I want people to know we are not waiting to get to work, Biden said in an address to the nation from the campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware late on Friday night.
I want everyone to know that on Day One, we are going to put our plan to control this virus into action. That can’t save any of the lives that have been lost, but it will save a lot of lives in the months ahead, the 77-year-old former US vice president said.
A day earlier, he and Harris held meetings with a group of experts on the public health and economic crises the country is facing.
“Senator Harris and I also heard yesterday about how the recovery is slowing because of the failure to get the pandemic under control,” he said. “More than 20 million people are on unemployment. Millions are worried about making rent and putting food on the table. Our economic plan will put a focus on a path to a strong recovery, he said.
Noting that the pandemic is getting significantly more worrisome all across the country, Biden said that daily cases are skyrocketing, and it is now believed that they could see spikes as high as 200,000 cases in a single day.
The death toll is approaching 240,000 lives lost to this virus. That’s 240,000 empty chairs at the kitchen and dinner tables across America, he said.
We’ll never be able to measure all the pain, the loss, and the suffering so many families have experienced. I know how it feels to lose someone you love, and I want them to know they’re not alone. Our hearts break with you. I know tensions can be high after a tough election like we just had, he said.
Biden urged his fellow countrymen to remain calm and patient as the vote counting process is still going on in some key battleground states.
And let the process work out as we count all the votes, he said. (PTI)