Biden: Controlling COVID-19 Will Require Immense Effort

The Democratic candidate for the White House, Joe Biden, warned this Wednesday that controlling COVID-19 will require an immense effort and no magic button to end the pandemic. At the same time, President Donald Trump continues with his frenetic pace of the non-virus campaign.

Six days before the election, Biden, 77, remained at his Delaware residence and voted early, as have 74.7 million other Americans who have already cast their ballot.

The Democratic candidate again criticized his rival on the health situation, which has monopolized the campaign in a country where there are 226,723 deaths from COVID-19, more than in any other nation in the world.

According to a survey compiled by FiveThirtyEight.com polls, 57.4% of U.S. citizens disapprove of Trump's management of COVID-19.

"This virus is hitting minorities much harder, especially Blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans," Biden said. 

Meanwhile, Biden warned that even if he wins the election, "ending the pandemic is going to require an immense effort." 

"I am not campaigning on a false promise that I can end the pandemic like someone flipping a switch," he said. 

With a strategy running on denial, Trump, 74, continued with his frenetic pace of rallies. This Wednesday, he focused his campaign in Arizona, a state with a Republican tradition where his opponent slightly leads the polls by a margin of fewer than three points. 

On a Bullhead airstrip, Trump - dressed in a suit and red "Make America Great Again" cap - ignored the COVID-19 crisis, in an environment where many of his supporters didn't even wear face masks as they cheered him energetically. 

"It's going to be fantastic, a real red wave," the president said of the Republican Party's flagship color. 

The president will end the day in Doral, Florida, not forgetting this state's precious 29 electoral votes.

The immense number of votes cast in advance suggests two things: the first is that there will be a record turnout in these elections, and the second is that the results will probably not be known on the night of the vote.

Aware that the race is close, Democrats will bet big on the weekend with a rally that will bring together Biden and former President Barack Obama for the first time in Michigan, another key state to reach the White House. 

- The economy in focus -

Another axis of the campaign is the country's ability to emerge from the harsh recession caused by the pandemic. 

Faced with a current outlook marked by millions of jobs destroyed, Trump on Tuesday promised that there would be "record prosperity, epic growth, and a safe vaccine." 

On Thursday, the Commerce Department will release growth figures for the third quarter, after the economy absorbed the pandemic's hit in the previous quarter and recorded a record contraction of 31.7%. 

According to the IMF, the United States will close the year with a less sharp contraction than expected, with a 4.3% drop in GDP. Still, in the absence of an agreement in Congress to launch a new stimulus plan and in the face of marked progress of the virus, nervousness reigns in the markets.

Wall Street closed with heavy losses, and oil and European markets also registered significant losses. 

- Curfew in Philadelphia -

Another issue that has marked the campaign is the wave of protests against racism and police brutality after George Floyd, a black American, was suffocated by a police officer in Minneapolis in late May. 

Another incident Monday in which police shot and killed a 27-year-old black man suffering from mental problems sparked a wave of riots in Philadelphia, which saw the second day of violence on Tuesday night. 

To prevent further riots, the authorities there decreed a curfew for this Wednesday.  

The White House, in a statement called the riots in Philadelphia, "the latest in the aftermath of the war against the police waged by the Democrats." 

Biden criticized the violence and looting but stressed that the protest is legitimate.