What will Joe Biden focus on as soon as he becomes president of the US?
Video report by ITV News Correspondent Emma Murphy
As Joe Biden pivots from a bitter campaign struggle to preparing for his administration, the number of challenges he faces once he assumes the presidency are numerous, with some needing his attention from day one.
Although the counting has not finished in the US general-election, most trackers have declared that Mr Biden has enough of a vote lead in enough states to secure the 270 votes needed from the Electoral College to win the contest.
When Donald Trump inherited the presidency the nation was experiencing a strong period of economic growth, record levels of employment and a generally peaceful world (excluding a few hot spots).
When Mr Biden assumes the role, he will have few such gifts, the US has suffered huge numbers of cases and deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic with no signs of it going away anytime soon; the economy has crashed into a historic recession; unemployment has soared; and the whole world is struggling to get to grips with the damage the virus has caused.
With all this in mind, what will President-elect Biden have in his in-tray on the first day he takes office?
Coronavirus
By many measures, coronavirus has hit the US worse out of any nation in the world.
Speaking on Monday, Mr Biden said another 200,000 lives could be lost before a vaccine became widely available and encouraged all American's to wear a mask.
Mr Biden said, “Please, I implore you, wear a mask.” He noted masks could save the lives of older people, children and teachers and added: “It could even save your own life.”
The US is now averaging more than 100,000 new coronavirus infections per day for the past five days, frequently breaking records for daily cases.
Hospitals in several states are running out of space and staff, and the death toll is soaring.
So far, the US has recorded more than 10 million infections and more than 237,000 deaths from Covid-19.
President-elect Biden has already announced the formation of a coronavirus task-force which will guide him through the transition and eventually when he comes to power.
In a statement released on Monday, Mr Biden said: “Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important battles our administration will face, and I will be informed by science and by experts.”
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Scientists have been warning the US faces a tough winter as coronavirus continues to spread and could peak around the time Mr Biden is sworn in.
Ian Scott, professor of American Studies at the University of Manchester told ITV News a lot of what the new president will decide to do will be based on "how bad the Covid-19 crisis is when he enters office".
Climate change
Mr Biden made tackling climate change a core part of his election campaign and his policies on the issue are some of the most progressive a US presidential candidate has ever put forward.
The policy platform he suggested was in part guided by more left-wing members of the Democratic Party and proved vital to getting them to support his ticket, despite his more centrist approach.
On November 5, the US formally left the Paris Accords which was reached under the Obama administration which saw most nations of the world commit to keeping global warming "well below 2C".
President Trump pulled his country out of the agreement arguing the proposals would stymie economic growth but the decision left the US isolated on the world stage.
President-elect Biden tweeted when the US left the agreement his administration would seek to rejoin it on the first day of his administration.
Professor Scott said rejoining the Paris Accords would be a "gesture of America trying to reestablish itself on the world stage."
Resetting American Diplomacy
Mr Trump's tenure has been marked with a dramatic shift in diplomatic priorities away from the American norm.
Mr Trump often cultivated the views of North Korea, Russia and other authoritarian leaders while tarnishing the relationships of the US's traditional allies in Europe.
The result has often lead to accusations of the US taking a step back from the world stage, leaving others to fill in the gaps.
Mr Biden has said he intends to "restore our leadership on the world stage" by taking actions including rejoining the World Health Organization.
In an interview with CBS he said: "Day one, if I win, I’m going to be on the phone with our Nato allies saying we’re back.
"We’re back and you can count on us again."
Professor Scott said: "Everywhere you look he's got bridges to build, friendships to cultivate all over again, it's a massive job."Peter Ling, Emeritus Professor of American Studies at the University of Nottingham, told ITV News the new president would be making "soothing noises about a new era of international cooperation especially to traditional allies".
North Korea and Iran
Professor Ling also said Mr Biden would need to quickly to decide what to do about Iran and North Korea.
Mr Trump made history by becoming the first sitting US president to meet a North Korean leader after trying to cool down hostilities between the two nations.
Since the two met the isolationist state has toned down its rhetoric about attacking the nation with nuclear weapons, which was often a source of frustration for President Obama.
Despite this some international observers have suggested North Korea is still working on nuclear weapons and is still a threat to the US and its allies.
On the other hand, Mr Trump has trashed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action President Obama signed with Iran aimed at curtailing their nuclear ambitions.
Returning to the agreement with Iran may be impossible after so much time and fierce opposition from the Republicans, but Mr Biden has said he would like to "change course" with the country.
Healing a divided nation
When Mr Biden made his victory speech he made reconciliation a key part of his message.
For the past four years Americans have been bitterly divided over Mr Trump, with those who support him and those who loathe him often struggling to find anything they agreed on.
During the speech he said: "It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again.
"And to make progress we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies."He added: "This is the time to heal in America."
Professor Scott pointed out Mr Biden was already making moves on this by including some moderate Republicans in his Covid taskforce.
He said Mr Biden will "probably try and appoint moderate Republicans into places where he's being seen to reaching across the isle".
While the president has a free hand when it comes to foreign policy, he is much more restrained at home.
The Democrats failed to take the Senate during the election and their hopes now boil down to two runoff elections in Georgia, both of which will be tough fights.
If the Democrats failed to take the Senate much of Mr Biden's agenda will be hard to implement.
Professor Scott said Mr Biden was used to working with someone like Mitch McConnell, the influential Republican Senate Majority Leader, and that might prove key to making getting any legislation passed.
Professor Scott added: "You can expect quite a lot of compromise."
Everything else
Professor Scott said Mr Biden's to do "list is long and significant".
Professor Ling pointed out even with all that has been outlined Mr Biden had many other priorities.
These included:
Replacing a huge number of federal appointments
Reinvigorating a civil service which often was subject to attacks by the Trump administration
Cancel numerous executive orders like the so-called Muslim ban and citizenship rights for 'Dreamers'
Consider what to do with the trade war with China
Decide what to do about the military operations in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan
All of this is contingent on President Trump leaving peacefully and accepting the result or at least getting him to leave office.
Professor Scott said the next two months "were crucial" for Mr Biden as he prepares to take office.
He said Mr Biden needed to establish "credibility" and establish the election is "incontestable" if he can do that then he should be able to move quite quickly on all the issues that needed dealing with.