Welcome back to the Weekly Wrap! Joe Biden has been declared the winner of the election by the Associated Press. This week’s post will be mainly focused on how the transition of power is (and isn’t) going, along with a little local COVID-19 news.

Disclaimer: every news story is constantly evolving, so it is possible that more update-to-date information exists elsewhere. For this reason, I will link to many of my sources so you can learn more.

Trump Refuses to Concede

President Donald Trump has refused to concede the election, a move that is unprecedented. Instead, he has remained silent, with the exception of his Twitter, where he constantly posts false messages such as this one from Nov. 10.

Trump is providing his supporters with false hope, telling them that mass election fraud was committed, which the New York Times found no evidence of in any state.

Trump officials have also been refusing to accept the election results.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked during a press briefing on Nov. 10 what the State Department was doing to work with the Biden transition team. He replied, “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.”

By refusing to accept the results of the election, Trump is creating an environment that could lead to violence among his supporters and Democrats.

Government officials refuse to work with Biden transition team

Many government agencies have refused to work with the Biden-Harris transition team.

Traditionally, the president-elect receives national security briefs and other important information regarding the state of the nation prior to taking office, in order for a smooth transition of power.

If the Trump administration continues on the course they are on now, the Biden administration could have to spend the first few days in office receiving updates on what is happening in the country, and the world. This could result in some very dangerous scenarios in which the White House would have no idea what it was getting into regarding national security and international issues.

In addition, the State Department has been receiving messages from world leaders congratulating Biden, none of which have been sent to Biden. This further shows how Trump’s team refuses to accept that they lost. 

To get around this, Biden has been using Obama-era connections to reach foreign governments, though without the State Department’s resources, like translators, it is proving difficult to communicate effectively. 

DCU Center field hospital to reopen

As COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts increase, Governor Charlie Baker has asked UMass Memorial Medical Center to reopen the field hospital at the DCU Center in Worcester. 

The field hospital was first created in the spring when hospitals across the state were overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. The hospital is now preparing to reopen and could be operational within the next three weeks.

Dr. Erik Dickson, President and CEO of Umass Memorial Hospital, said Friday in a press conference that if everyone does the right thing (mask-wearing, social distancing, etc.) the field hospital would not have to open.  

The hospital will be staffed by volunteers and UMass personnel.

According to Peter Lancette, who served as the Associate Chief Nursing Officer for the field hospital when it was active in the spring, the project only worked due to immense amounts of coordination and teamwork between many different organizations and services.

Biden names COVID-19 Advisory Board

Fighting COVID-19 and correcting the Trump administration response was one of the primary speaking points for Biden’s campaign.

On Monday, Nov. 9, Biden announced his “Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board.” The board is comprised of 13 people, many of whom have served with previous administrations and worked with health-related legislation and response.

They will work to take the plan the Biden team produced during the campaign, and turn it into executable legislation.

Because the Trump administration is not working with the Biden team, the Biden team is using back channels to talk to governors and the medical community. 

Regardless of who they talk to, the board needs official access to COVID-19 data, the national stockpile of PPE and plans for vaccine distribution.

 Trump rallies link to over 30,000 cases

A study conducted by researchers from Stanford University revealed that over 30,000 cases of COVID-19 may have originated at Trump’s campaign rallies.

At rallies, Trump supporters rarely wore masks and were packed into close quarters, oftentimes indoors.

In addition, the study found that at least 700 deaths have been linked to these rallies.

In response to the study, a Trump campaign spokesperson said, “Americans have the right to gather under the First Amendment to hear from the President of the United States.”