L’Biden administration has no plans to ‘lock in’ the United States in the face of a potential new winter wave of Covid-19, executive spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Monday, on the eve of a much-anticipated speech by Joe Biden. The American president, who is to address the Americans on Tuesday about the Omicron variant, will not announce “the confinement of the country, she said during her daily press briefing, but will rather emphasize the benefits of vaccination” . He will also announce new “measures” aimed at “increasing access to screening” for Covid-19, and will hammer home “the risks run by unvaccinated individuals”.
The Omicron variant, which should quickly surpass Delta in the United States according to health authorities, risks plunging the country into a new wave amplified by the end of the year holidays and the weather conditions conducive to indoor gatherings.
READ ALSOCampaigning in the midst of the Covid wave: the American example
White House adviser on the health crisis, Dr Anthony Fauci announced on Sunday “difficult weeks or months as we approach winter”. The United States is the most bereaved country in the world in absolute terms, with more than 807,000 deaths from Covid-19.