For Joe Biden's presidency, a deepening divide and raging pandemic awaits

The soon-to-be President of the United States Joe Biden will be sworn in on Wednesday as he takes the role of the leader of a country that is struggling with a deepening political divide and a pandemic that is still consuming the world. Biden will be the oldest President of the US yet and the inauguration is set to be scaled-back not just because of rising cases but also because of the assault on Capitol Hill that took place not long ago.

Biden is set to take the oath of office just after 2230 IST along with his running mate Kamala Harris, who will be the first Black person, first woman, and first Asian-American to be the Vice President of the US. The ceremony will be heavily guarded with thousands of National Guard troops called into the capital.

According to sources, Biden will call for unity amongst Americans in his inaugural speech and has invited top leaders across the aisle to join him at church in the morning. Current president Trump will break tradition and leave the White House before Biden arrives as he still has not formally conceded the election. He will host a sendoff in the morning, but top Republicans are not expected to attend.

With the swearing-in, Biden will soon have spent five decades as a public servant, which includes his two terms as VP under former President Barack Obama. But the crises up ahead will be unlike any he has encountered. The coronavirus death toll has reached 400,000 and over 24 million cases, highest in the world.

With his top priority being a trillion dollar plan to tackle unemployment, Biden prepares to bring the full force of his office to get a grip on the crisis. A huge vaccination drive and a better testing and tracing program is also on the list. He also plans to reverse many of Trump's policies, including the travel ban from Muslim-majority countries and leaving the Paris agreement.