Hey Folks, it’s Joe Biden. I’m writing to you from my home in Delaware. If you’re home, too, thank you for joining me in listening to public health officials as they work to keep us safe. And if you’re out working to keep our communities safe, delivering life-saving care or important supplies -- I thank you greatly and our nation thanks you.

I wanted to use this time to send you some of my thoughts, things I’m reading, and to answer some of your questions, so I’m starting this newsletter for us to stay in touch. I hope to send it out regularly and I hope it can help us stay connected.

Let me know what you think! My team and I will collect feedback, questions, and messages on this form here >> https://go.joebiden.com/newsletter

• ‘Do More—Fast. Don’t Wait.’ - The Atlantic
  Interesting read about what Denmark is doing to make sure the spread of COVID-19 is halted and to freeze the economy so there is something to come back to. This interview with the Employment Minister of Denmark sheds some light on steps countries are taking to protect their economies, because we can’t pretend this is business as usual.
   
• 'Senators must be allowed to vote remotely during a crisis like this one' - The Washington Post
  Fitting in this week’s theme, some traditions may need to be broken in this time of crisis. I commend my colleagues for continuing to fight for the American people, and looking at ways to fight safely.

Hey, Joe!

I’ve been getting a lot of mail this last week. Here are some questions you’ve sent in that I’d like to answer.

1. Question from Kelly in Baltimore: What would you say to the American people this week?
   Stick together, lift each other up. We need each other now more than ever. The American people are capable of extraordinary things, and we will rise to this challenge as we have many times before. But we have got to stick together. We can’t let anyone divide us, not this president, not anyone. So look out for each other and let’s get through this the right way.
    
2. Question from Jamie in New Orleans: What movie should I watch this week?
   You may already know this since it’s no secret, but my favorite movie is 1981’s Chariots of Fire. It’s a true story from the 1924 Olympics of two runners. It has sports, religion, some big questions to think through, and ultimately a really uniting take about how small our differences really are. Give that a watch!
    
3. Question from Ben in Des Moines: How is Dr. Biden? Is she staying safe and what has she been up to lately?
   She’s great. Probably tired of being around me so much at this point.

Spread The Faith

Speaking of lifting each other up, I wanted to use this space to share some of the ways that our communities are coming together in times of darkness.

The Angeleno Campaign in Los Angeles, led by my friend Mayor Eric Garcetti, is a great example of that:

Note From The Doc

I have a team of advisors, Rebecca Katz is one of them, and I wanted to have her share her thoughts on this moment with you.

Cases of COVID-19 are rising at an alarming rate around the world, with approximately 40,000 additional cases documented in the last 24 hours. In the United States, more than 46,000 people have tested positive, and we expect as many as ten times that number have contracted the virus but are yet untested. Our case counts are doubling every two days, and it is fair to say that we can expect the numbers to get significantly worse in the coming days and weeks.

We are in the midst of an unprecedented public health emergency, which requires immediate action by our government and sacrifice by our population. We need a coordinated, national effort to direct everyone in the country not performing an essential service to stay home. It will not be easy, but taking country-wide coordinated action now will save lives.

Rebecca Katz, PhD MPH
Professor and Director, Georgetown University Center for Global Health Science and Security

What’s Coming Up

What To Expect From The Campaign This Week

As you can tell, I’m still getting used to this virtual world we’re campaigning in. Our campaign is trying a whole lot of new stuff. But some overall things to look forward to this week:

• Young Americans Roundtable -- I’ll be doing a roundtable with some folks to talk about how COVID-19 and the economic trouble we’re finding ourselves in is affecting young people. I think I have some good solutions, but I want to hear from people. It’ll be tonight at 6:30.
   
• New podcast -- My team and I are working on a new podcast! It will be a program to share some more of my ideas and plans and to bring on some experts and people I’ve worked with in the White House. Look out for more information to subscribe and follow along!