Biden says US closer to ‘independence’ from COVID

President Joe Biden celebrated US Independence Day with an upbeat assessment of a country he said is roaring back to post-pandemic life, even if COVID-19 has yet to be fully “vanquished”. Speaking before a festive crowd of 1,000 guests on the White House South Lawn on Sunday, Biden drew a comparison between the declaration of independence from the British Empire in 1776 and today’s rapid recovery from the coronavirus. “Two hundred and forty-five years ago, we declared our independence from a distant king. Today, we are closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus,” he told the crowd of invited military members and essential workers.