Biden puts forth virus strategy, requires mask use to travel
New York officials are pushing for more COVID-19 vaccine doses as the effort to speed up inoculations collides with a lack of vaccine. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that the city will run out of first doses of COVID-19 vaccine sometime Thursday without fresh supplies. The U.S. mask order for travel being implemented by Biden will apply to airports and planes, ships, intercity buses, trains and public transportation. As part of his COVID-19 strategy, Biden will order the establishment of a COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force to ensure that minority and underserved communities are not left out of the government's response. Biden is ordering FEMA to reimburse states for the full cost of using their National Guards to set up vaccination centers.
Biden signs burst of virus orders, vows 'Help is on the way'
President Joe Biden speaks about the coronavirus in the State Dinning Room of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, in Washington. โWe didnโt get into this mess overnight, and it will take months to turn this around,โ Biden said at the White House. A key difference is that under Biden, the federal government is assuming full responsibility for the COVID response. Biden is seeking to expand testing and vaccine availability, with the goal of 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office. But administration officials stressed that reopening schools safely depends on increased testing.
As virus rages in US, New York guards against another rise
FILE - In this May 27, 2020, file photo, medical personnel work in the emergency department at NYC Health + Hospitals Metropolitan in New York. Some health care workers are heading to other states to help fight the virus, reciprocating the influx that gave New York hospitals some much-needed relief just months ago. Yet with the virus tearing through the South and West, Cuomo warned Friday it would eventually rear up again in New York. "The question is one of timing.As cases spiked in March and April, New York became the nation's coronavirus nightmare, with New York City at the crux of it. New York has taken reopening relatively slowly and braked, postponing the resumption of indoor restaurant service in New York City, after cases began surging elsewhere.