President Biden warned Friday that the COVID-19 death toll is expected to surpass 600,000, just days after the United States recorded an increase of 100,000 deaths in about one month.
“The virus is surging,” Biden said Friday. “We’re 400,000 dead, expected to reach well over 600,000.”
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Biden signed two new executive orders Friday meant to provide economic relief to people who have suffered financial losses during the pandemic and to increase the minimum wage for federal workers to $15.
“The bottom line is this: We’re in a national emergency,” he said. “We need to act like we’re in a national emergency. So, we’ve got to move with everything we’ve got.”
The COVID-19 death toll reached 400,000 on Tuesday, having increased by 100,000 since Dec. 17, marking the fastest rate that coronavirus deaths have climbed. Deaths due to the coronavirus have increased by an average of about 3,900 each day over the past week.
The U.S. recorded an all-time-high daily death toll on Wednesday with 4,409, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
