WILMINGTON, Del. — Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden took a break from the physical campaign trail on Wednesday, instead opting to hear from public health experts via virtual briefing as coronavirus cases surge nationwide.


What You Need To Know

  • Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden was briefed by a group of health experts on the coronavirus from Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday

  • Center for Science in the Public Interest director Dr. David Kessler warned Biden that the U.S. is "in the midst of the third wave" of COVID

  • Biden pledged to start dealing with the coronavirus "on day one" should he be elected

  • After Biden’s address, the former vice president and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, cast their votes early in Delaware

Biden was briefed at a theater in Wilmington, Delaware, by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Center for Science in the Public Interest director Dr. David Kessler, New York University medical school assistant professor Dr. Celine Grounder and Yale University associate professor of medicine Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.

The Democrat sat on a stage with briefing materials before him in front of a screen with graphs showing the seven-day rolling average of reported daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations over the past four months.

Kessler warned Biden, “We are in the midst of the third wave.”

Data compiled by Johns Hopkins shows more than 226,000 people have died from the virus in the United States. More than 71,000 people a day are testing positive on average, up from 51,000 two weeks ago. Cases are on the rise in all but two states, Hawaii and Delaware.

Biden has made the coronavirus the central focus of his campaign against President Donald Trump, who has insisted “we’re rounding the turn, we’re doing great.” Biden has sought to draw a contrast with the Republican president on how he’d handle the pandemic.

"I'm not running into a false promise of being able to end this pandemic by flipping a switch,” Biden said after his Wednesday briefing. “All I can promise you is this: We will start on day one doing the right things ... We will deal honestly with the American people, & will never, ever, ever quit."

The former vice president also slammed Trump’s approach to campaigning in the final stretch of the election, saying the president’s Omaha supporters who were left in the cold after a rally is “an image that captured President Trump’s whole approach” to the health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Reports surfaced following Trump's campaign rally at a Nebraska airport on Tuesday that thousands of people in attendance had to wait around in frigid weather for hours after it ended before they could get back to their cars.

Police later said about six or seven of them were taken to hospitals from the airport grounds “due to a variety of medical conditions.”

Most rallygoers had parked in lots a mile or two from the airport and were shuttled into the 7:30 p.m. event on buses. Shuttle buses were unable to return to the airport as traffic snarled and hundreds of people wandered into the streets around the airport as they tried to walk to their cars.

Police tried to clear traffic and respond to medical emergencies including some people who suffered adverse effects from the cold weather, around 30 degrees.

Trump deputy national press secretary Samantha Zager said Wednesday that because of the size of the crowd 40 shuttle buses were deployed instead of the normal 15. But she says “local road closures and resulting congestion caused delays.”

Following Biden’s Wednesday address, the former vice president and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, cast their votes early in Delaware.

Meanwhile, Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, is touring the state of Arizona with a series of campaign stops aimed at courting voters in the newly emerged swing state. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.