US President Joe Biden called for “unity” moments after his inauguration in Washington on Wednesday

“This is America’s day, this is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope,” he said on the steps of the US Capitol after his swearing-in.

But as the US confronts the deadly coronavirus and deep political divisions he warned that to overcome its challenges will require “so much more than words, it will require the most elusive of all things in a democracy, unity.”