Joe Biden's inauguration expected to have smaller crowds and more social distancing

Amid the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, US President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20 is expected to have smaller crowds and more social distancing. According to the NY Times, Biden’s team has signalled that the 46th President wants a very different kind of inauguration. Even though the stage being built on the West Front of the Capitol can hold around 1,600 spectators, Biden’s inaugural committee hinted at the looming balancing act between health and politics and said that Biden has indicated that his inauguration ceremony will not be business as usual. 

While speaking to the media outlet, Tony Allen, the president of Delaware State University and the committee’s chief executive, said that Biden will honour the American inaugural traditions and engage Americans across the country while keeping everybody healthy and safe. The organisers are determined that Biden take the oath of office and deliver an address to the nation, preserving an iconic tableau that has often set the tone for a new presidency. However, amid the pandemic, they are also trying to reshape the event for the COVID-era. 

READ: Joe Biden To Bring His Pet Cat To White House Along With Two German Shepherds

Biden’s team slash number of officials 

According to the report, Biden’s team is planning to slash the number of officials, including Supreme Court justices, former presidents, top House and Senate leaders and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The invited guests, on the other hand, will be required to socially distance and wear masks. Some may also be asked to take coronavirus tests. 

Further, as Congress usually distributes 200,000 tickets for seats near the platform, this year, however, Senator Roy Blunt, who is overseeing the planning on Capitol Hill, has indicated that number could be cut drastically. The panning committee is still debating whether they can salvage a luncheon in National Statutory Hall at the Capitol. They may also alter or cancel a smaller signing ceremony in the ornate President’s Rom off the Senate floor. Moreover, a traditional military review on the East Front of the Capitol, however, may still go on in some form. 

READ: Biden Names Liberal Econ Team As Pandemic Threatens Workers

With the worsening condition of the pandemic, it is still unclear whether Biden might seek to proactively discourage Americans from travelling to the nation’s capital to witness the inauguration in person. The Mall in the shadow of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial are usually open to the public without restrictions during the ceremony, however, this year gathering may not be allowed.

One thing is, however, definite that Biden’s inauguration will not be the kind of over-the-top celebration that Trump has often talked about wanting, with Army tanks and fighter jets. Instead, people close to Biden have suggested that he will use the model of his campaign, which sought to preserve some of the excitement of big political events while devising them to minimize the spread of the virus.

READ: Biden Weighs Rahm Emanuel For Transportation Secretary

READ: Joe Biden Gets Access To President's Daily Brief