Biden gives Thanksgiving address

During a Wednesday speech, President-elect Joe Biden drew comparisons between the country’s battle with the coronavirus pandemic and the first U.S. celebration of a day of thanksgiving during the Revolutionary War. He described avoiding large Thanksgiving gatherings as a “patriotic duty” and said his own family would forgo its usual celebration. “There’s real hope; tangible hope. So hang on!” he urged.

What is the situation with the virus? The United States is averaging nearly 170,000 COVID-19 cases per day according to the COVID Tracking Project, a high for the duration of the pandemic. Average daily deaths from the virus in the past seven days surpassed 1,500. Just before Thanksgiving, airports around the country still had their busiest weekend since lockdowns began in March, with more than a million Americans passing through checkpoints.

Dig deeper: Read Emily Belz’s report on the pandemic’s effect on prison ministries.