The daily business briefing: November 20, 2020

Biden vows not to shut down the economy over coronavirus surge, weekly unemployment claims rise more than expected, and more 

Biden in Delaware
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

1. Biden says he won't push national coronavirus shutdown

President-elect Joe Biden told reporters on Thursday he would not push a national business shutdown to fight the COVID-19 pandemic once he takes office in January. Because "every region ... can be different," Biden said, "there is no circumstances in which I can see we would require a total national shutdown." He said that community spread of the virus varies too much across the country for nationwide restrictions, but that each region should implement restrictions to curb the spread. In a video conference with leaders of the National Governors Association, Biden promised to help states fight the pandemic. He also expressed concern that President Trump's administration was withholding transition resources and hampering his ability to plan quick distribution of a coronavirus vaccine.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.