Biden sees virus ‘independence,’ but COVID takes no holiday

Joe Biden is ready to host the largest event yet of his presidency, an Independence Day barbecue and fireworks-watching celebration on the South Lawn on Sunday night

WASHINGTON -- After nearly six months in office, grappling with a pandemic every step of that way, President Joe Biden was determined to party. “This is a holiday weekend,” Biden declared on Friday as he parried journalists’ “negative” questions about the ongoing U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, “I’m going to be celebrating it.” Biden wants Americans to celebrate too, after enduring 16 months of disruption in the pandemic and more than 605,000 deaths. The White House encouraged gatherings and fireworks displays all around the country to mark — as though ripped from a Hollywood script — the nation’s “independence” from the virus. And there is much to cheer: Cases and deaths from COVID-19 are at or near record lows since the outbreak began, thanks to the robust U.S. vaccination program. Businesses and restaurants are open, hiring is picking up and travel is getting closer to pre-pandemic levels.