Joe Biden, Kamala Harris to take oath at US Capitol next month in virtual ceremony

US Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) announced on December 15 that President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take the oath of office at US Capitol next month. This comes after the Electoral College officially declared Joe Biden to be the next President of the US with 306 votes. However, in an update, the committee informed that the ceremony will be comparatively smaller due to the COVID-19 pandemic as it urged the people not to travel for the inauguration on January 20.

In a press release, the Inaugural Committee stated that the ceremony will be scaled down to limited capacity with rigorous health and safety protocols. The President and the Vice President will be sworn in the tradition that started in 1801 with the first US President Thomas Jefferson taking oath in Washington.  According to the release, the committee was planning an event along with the Joint Congressional Committee honour the American tradition, however keeping it safe for safe from the spread of the novel coronavirus.

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Ceremony to be 'virtual'

President-elect Biden and Vice-President-elect Harris will take their oaths of office at the US Capitol during a historic ceremony that includes vigorous health and safety protocols, the committee said in a statement, adding, that the parade this year will be “reimagined”. Further, the committee made an appeal for the people to watch the ceremony from home. The committee’s chief medical adviser, David Kessler, confirmed the event details to the NPR saying that the team is planning a ceremony with a limited footprint on January 20.

The ex Food and Drug Administration commissioner, who was also Biden campaign advisor added that the committee hired some of what it calls the seasoned production experts that includes members from the 2020 Democratic National Convention namely Stephanie Cutter, Ricky Kirshner, and Rod O’Connor to draft a plan of action to make the event virtual. The decision comes as the US death toll reached a grim milestone of 300,000 fatalities count. 

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