WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that a recent decline in COVID-19 cases could be stalled, a development she described as worrying, while calling for guarantees to combat the virus remain in force.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters that the number of cases has increased in the last three days compared to the previous week and that hospitalizations and deaths have also been “potential, down to a very large number.”
Walensky painted a critical picture of the current state of the pandemic.
“Things are fragile. Now is not the time to relax the restrictions. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain very high, and the recent change in the pandemic must be taken extremely seriously. ”
States and cities have gradually lifted restrictions in recent weeks. New York City reopened the indoor restaurant earlier this month, and Massachusetts plans to remove restaurant capacity limits starting in March. Montana and Iowa lifted statewide mask requirements earlier this month, while the North Dakota mask mandate expired in January.
The White House on Friday urged companies to join efforts to help fight the pandemic by imposing clothing on employees and educating customers.
Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to the White House’s COVID-19 response team, listed a number of companies taking steps to help fight the pandemic and urged more to join.
He announced what he described as a new partnership between the Biden administration and leading organizations to stimulate the private sector to encourage companies to apply for masks and social distance to protect employees and customers, to make it easier for employees to get vaccinated with incentives. and educate the public about the benefits of masks and vaccines.
“We are asking companies to amplify CDC messages about masking and vaccinations on their products, properties and websites,” Slavitt said.
Ford and Gap produced and donated millions of masks, he said, while Best Buy, Target and Dollar General gave workers time off or compensated them for vaccines.
Uber, PayPal and Walgreens have teamed up to offer $ 10 million in free rides to vaccination sites, while Lyft has partnered with CVS and the YMCA to offer $ 60 million free or reduced rides to vaccination sites. vaccination sites.
The White House is working on an extensive campaign to educate Americans about the vaccine as it seeks to control the pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 people in the United States.
President Joe Biden on Thursday expressed concern that later this spring the supply of vaccines would exceed demand due to the vaccine’s hesitation.
Moderna Inc. said Wednesday it is working with U.S. government scientists to study an experimental booster shot targeting a new variant of the coronavirus. [L1N2KU3A9]
Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said the study, which will be led by the National Institutes of Health, will begin in mid-March and that there is no plan yet to begin making the experimental booster on a large scale. it is unclear whether the new Variant B1351 first found in South Africa will become a dominant variant in the United States.
Reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington and Carl O’Donnell in New York; additional reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Mark Heinrich