As the USA faces a resurgent epidemic, the USA government will distribute 500 million free coronavirus tests to Americans’ homes starting next month, and the military will be dispatched to shore up overburdened hospitals. On Tuesday, President Biden will unveil additional efforts to combat the virus, a day after the CDC said that the Omicron form now accounts for the majority of new cases in the United States. President Joe Biden wants to increase testing, hospital treatment, and immunizations without imposing any new closures or lockdowns.
The president will use the address to convince Americans that his administration is up to the task of combating yet another outbreak of the virus, the second of his presidency. However, he must contend with the idea that the government was caught off guard when cases began to pile up earlier this month and Americans began complaining that test kits, which are critical for controlling transmission, were in short supply.
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The appearance of the Omicron strain of the virus, which has now been found in most states, took the government off guard, according to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Even as new infections strain the nation’s healthcare system, Americans are finding testing in short supply and seeing their schools close as a result of the outbreak, Biden’s strategy remains focused on pushing vaccinations.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki remarked, “This is not a speech about shutting down the country.” According to her, Biden plans to draw harsh parallels with similar rises in instances earlier in the pandemic. “To be clear, COVID-19 does not pose the same threat to fully vaccinated people now as it did in March 2020.”
School closures have been opposed by the White House, though Psaki said Monday that “local school districts will need to make the judgments that they believe are appropriate for their communities.”
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented research supporting “test-to-stay” procedures, in which students who have been exposed to a case can continue in class if certain requirements are met. Despite this, according to Burbio, a data firm that aggregates calendars worldwide, there were 646 COVID-related school closings this week, up from 356 the week before.
