U.S. President-elect, Joe Biden, says his first task in office is to get the coronavirus pandemic under control.
Biden stated this in his acceptance speech, which he delivered before a crowd of supporters in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday night.
βOur work begins with getting Covid-19 under control.
βWe cannot repair the economy, restore our vitality, or relish lifeβs most precious moments: hugging a grandchild, our children, birthdays, weddings, graduations, all the moments that matter most to us, until we get it under control.
βOn Monday, I will name a group of leading scientists and experts as transition advisers to help take the Biden-Harris Covid-19 plan and convert it into actual blue print that will start on Jan. 20, 2021.
βThat plan will be built on bedrock science. It will be constructed out of compassion, empathy and concern.
βI will spare no effort, none, or any commitment to turn around this pandemic,β he said.
Joined by the Vice President-elect, Ms Kamala Harris, and their families, Biden said with the campaigns over, it was time for unity to build back better.
βThe Bible tells us that to everything there is a season β a time to build, a time to reap, a time to sow. And a time to heal.
βThis is the time to heal in America. Itβs time to put away the harsh rhetoric. To lower the temperature, to see each other again, to listen to each other again.
βThe work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: βI will be a President for all Americans β whether you voted for me or notβ.
βI will keep the faith that you have placed in me. I pledge to be a President who seeks not to divide, but to unify,β Biden added.
The president-elect said he believed part of the mandate from American voters is for all elected public officers to cooperate in their interest.
Stating that this is the choice he had made, he called on members of Congress, regardless of party, to make the choice with him.
Biden acknowledged the support of the African American community, which he said stood up for him when his campaign was faltering.
βThey always have my back, and Iβll have theirs,β he said.
Earlier, Harris thanked the American people for their confidence in the Biden candidacy, saluting their courage and resilience in the last four years.
βFor four years, you marched and organised for equality and justice, for our lives and for our planet and then you voted!
βAnd you delivered a clear message. You chose hope and unity, decency, science, and yes, truth!
βYou chose Joe Biden as the next president of the United States of America!,β the Vice President-elect said, describing Biden as a βhealer, uniter, tested and steady hand.
According to her, the former Vice president is a βperson whose own experience of loss gives him a sense of purpose that will help us as a nation reclaim our own sense of purposeβ.

