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President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn into office at the US Capitol next month. It follows a tradition dating back to Thomas Jefferson, who was the first president to be sworn in Washington in 1801. However, the traditional inauguration festivities will be far smaller than those in recent history because of the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) issued a statement. The PIC oversees planning for the event, announced health protocols to promote safety on Inauguration Day, January 20. The committee said it was working with the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies to plan an event that honors and resembles sacred American traditions while keeping Americans safe and preventing the spread of COVID-19.

The statement also said, “On January 20, 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 ceremony’s footprint will be extremely limited and the parade that follows will be re-imagined. The PIC is urging the public to refrain from any travel and participate in the inaugural activities from home”. The committee’s chief medical adviser, Dr. David Kessler also said that people should avoid large gatherings when possible, and the committee is asking Americans to participate in inaugural events from home to protect themselves, their families, friends, and communities.

It is noteworthy that President-elect Joe Biden’s warning against in-person attendance of his inauguration contrasts with President Trump, who for years has been preoccupied with crowd size at his events. The White House press secretary Sean Spicer lied about the size of the crowd at Trump’s inauguration in 2017. Point to be noted that at least 300,000 Americans have died from the widespread coronavirus and more than 17 million have contracted the Covid-19 virus. The first approved vaccine started rolling out this week with the first vaccines going to health care workers. The US has planned to provide a massive amount of vaccination to save the lives of Americans.