Biden's call to keep schools open garners bipartisan standing ovation during State of the Union: 'Our kids need to be in school'

• Joe Biden pledged to keep US schools and businesses open in his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
• After nearly two years of the pandemic, the president called on Americans to "reset."

President Joe Biden committed to keeping America's public schools open as he addressed the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

"Our schools are open. Let's keep it that way," Biden said. "Our kids need to be in school."

The declaration prompted lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to rise to their feet and applaud the Democratic president — one of several times Biden's hour-long speech evoked bipartisan applause.

As COVID-19 cases continue to fall and mask requirements slowly start to dissipate, the president said the country is equipped to end the shutdown of schools and businesses, and called on the country to use this moment to "reset."

"Let's stop looking at COVID-19 as a partisan dividing line and see if for what it is: A God-awful disease," Biden said. "Let's stop seeing each other as enemies and start seeing each other for who we really are: Fellow Americans."

COVID-19 has killed more than 950,000 Americans since 2020, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

Biden pledged to continue taking steps to combat the virus, saying the US should never "just accept" living with it.

"But," he said, "thanks to the progress we have made this year, COVID-19 need no longer control our lives."

Biden also said Americans working from home due to the pandemic can start to "feel safe" as they begin returning to offices.

The president praised vaccination numbers across the country and urged those who have not yet been inoculated or boosted to do so.

The administration is also making more free COVID-19 tests available to Americans starting next week, Biden announced during the speech, encouraging people to order more.

In addition to the pandemic, the president's speech focused on the global response to the ongoing Russian invasion in Ukraine, his long-term economic agenda, and the future of the Supreme Court.