President Biden condemned “reckless behavior” he said was to blame for increasing diagnoses of COVID-19 across the country as he called on governors to reinstate mask mandates and pause reopening to halt the spread.
In doing so, he echoed a dire warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of “impending doom.”
CDC DIRECTOR CITES SENSE OF ‘IMPENDING DOOM’ OVER PANDEMIC TRAJECTORY
In a White House address, he said: “We’re giving up hard-fought, hard-won gains.”
Although he also praised the work of healthcare staff and emergency services and announced that 90% of adults will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine at a site within 5 miles of their home by April 19, the overall message was one that more action is needed.
“I’m reiterating my call for every governor, mayor, and local leader to maintain and reinstate the mask mandate,” he said, warning that inaction meant more deaths. “Please, this is not politics.”
He said new variants and “reckless behavior” — in a possible reference to images of college students packing beaches and partying in southern Florida over spring break — meant cases were increasing.
“Our progress on vaccination is a stunning example that there is nothing, nothing this country cannot do if we put our minds to it, and we do it together,” he said. “But I’ve also said, I will always give it to you straight, straight from the shoulder.
“Our work is far from over. The war against COVID-19 is far from over,” Biden said.
As he finished his address, he was asked by a reporter whether some states should pause their reopening. “Yes,” he replied.
Earlier, Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on a briefing call with reporters that a rolling seven-day average of new cases was a little fewer than 60,000 per day, an increase of about 10%.
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“I’m going to lose the script, and I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom,” she said. “Right now, I’m scared.”
Officials cited states reopening their economies, loosening pandemic restrictions, and an increase in travel as contributing factors.
