LIVE VIDEO: Biden Speaks On Coronavirus Response

The New York Times reports:



President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., whose team is finally free to coordinate transition planning, is hurriedly attempting to fill a void in pandemic response leadership left by President Trump, who has largely ignored the escalating 2,000-death-a-day crisis and made few public appearances since the election.

Mr. Biden is expected to take a major step next week, perhaps as early as Monday, when he will announce his pick for a new Health and Human Services secretary.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Biden — who sees his immediate role as breaking down the resistance to mask-wearing that has exacerbated an already dire wave of contagion — plans to deliver a presidential-style Thanksgiving address to rally the American people for the challenges ahead, intermingling hope with hard reality, his aides said.