WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is planning a lighting ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to honor those killed by the coronavirus the day before he is sworn into office on Jan. 20.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee said Thursday that it would hold the event the evening of Jan. 19, calling it the “first-ever lighting around the Reflecting Pool to memorialize American lives lost.”
It is also inviting communities around the country to join Washington in lighting up buildings and ringing church bells at 5:30 p.m.
A committee spokesperson said in a statement obtained by The Washington Post that the inauguration represents the beginning of a new national journey, but it’s important to honor those who’ve died during the pandemic and renew our commitment to coming together to end this crisis and rebuild the nation.
Biden inauguration will be more scaled back than others in the past to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The president-elect’s team is urging Americans to stay home instead of traveling to D.C. for the event.
