Biden to unveil new plan to fight crisis amid Delta surge
He will announce today a six-pronged strategy to fight the variant and increase vaccinations
WASHINGTON President Joe Biden will today present a six-pronged strategy intended to fight the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus Delta variant and increase Covid-19 vaccinations, the White House said.
The United States, which leads the world in cases and deaths, is struggling to stem a wave of infections driven by the variant.
Rising caseloads have raised concerns as children head back to school, while also rattling investors and upending company return-to-office plans.
White House spokesman Jen Psaki told reporters travelling with Mr Biden aboard Air Force One that he will lay out the strategy "working across the public and private sectors to help continue to get the pandemic under control".
Asked about possible new mandates, Ms Psaki said the White House would offer more details later about the plan and acknowledged that the federal government cannot broadly mandate that Americans get vaccinated.
"We need to continue to take more steps to make sure school districts are prepared and make sure communities across the country are prepared," Ms Psaki added.
A White House official familiar with the plan said it would touch on mandates, testing and schools.
"There is a path out," the official said, noting a sense of hopelessness by some in the country about the pandemic.
The official said the private sector could do more on the issue and that Mr Biden would take on vaccine hesitancy as well.
DEATH TOLL
The US has recorded roughly 650,000 Covid-19 deaths and last week exceeded 40 million cases.
Reuters data shows that more than 20,800 people have died in the US from Covid-19 in the past two weeks, up 67 per cent from the prior two-week period.
Hospitalisations have grown, with seven states - Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Tennessee and Washington -reporting records this month.
Mr Biden previously announced plans to offer booster shots more widely, pending regulatory approval.
His chief medical adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, on Tuesday said officials are still aiming to do so starting the week of Sept 20. - REUTERS
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
