Saturday, when President-elect Joe Biden formally beat his opponent Donald Trump, the United States set a new record for the number of coronavirus cases reported in a single day.
There were 134,377 new COVID-19 cases reported across the U.S. on Saturday, according to The Washington Post. The day also saw 1,147 deaths from the virus.
Saturday was also the fourth consecutive day that the U.S. surpassed its single-case record, with cases topping 100,000 each of those days.
There were 128,045 new coronavirus cases reported on Friday, a number that topped Thursday’s record-setting 116,707 new cases.
On Wednesday, the number of new coronavirus cases reported topped 100,000 for the first time, a day after millions of Americans headed to the polls to vote in the 2020 presidential election.
The soaring figures come as President-elect Biden prepares to take office amid a pandemic that has claimed more than 237,000 lives in the U.S.
The number of virus infections in the U.S. since the outbreak began early this year is approaching 10 million, according to a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
In his victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday night, Biden said the “battle to control the virus” will take priority when he takes office.
“Folks, our work begins with getting COVID under control,” he said. “We cannot repair the economy, restore our vitality, or relish life’s most precious moments, hugging our grandchildren, our children, our birthdays, weddings, graduations, all the moments that matter most to us, until we get it under control.”
Biden, who frequently denounced President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic during the presidential campaign, added his administration’s response will be led by scientists and experts.
He said he intends to announce a coronavirus task force as early as Monday.
“On Monday, I will name a group of leading scientists and experts as transition advisors to help pave the Biden-Harris covered plan and convert it into an action blueprint that will start on January 20th, 2021,” Biden said.
“That plan will rebuild on bedrock science. It will be constructed out of compassion, empathy and concern. I will spare no effort, none, or any commitment to turn around this pandemic.”
Biden’s 12-person task force will be led by three co-chairs—former surgeon general Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, David Kessler and Yale University’s Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, Axios first reported.
