Biden Unveils New Strategy to Combat Omicron
As the omicron variant sweeps across the United States, U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled a new pandemic strategy on Tuesday to combat surging COVID-19 infections.
Now the United States’ dominant COVID-19 strain, omicron accounted for 73 percent of new U.S. infections last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “I don’t think anybody anticipated that this was going to be as rapidly spreading as it did,” Biden said.
Under the new plan, the Biden administration will distribute 500 million free at-home tests, based on a similar system that Britain has implemented. To support overwhelmed hospitals, the government will deploy 1,000 military medical professionals and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) teams to hard-hit states, while also establishing new testing and vaccination sites. Lockdowns are still out of the picture, and travel bans on southern African countries may be reversed.
As the world approaches two years of life under the pandemic, Biden attempted to rally Americans. “I know you’re tired—I really mean this—and I know you’re frustrated. We all want this to be over,” he said. “But we’re still in it, and this is a critical moment.”
Around the world, however, determining exactly how to combat spiking omicron infections has proven to be a divisive issue.
While South Africa decided against imposing lockdowns in November, the Netherlands has adopted one of the most stringent lockdown policies to confront rising case numbers. Throughout the country, non-essential businesses will be closed until mid-January, and households will be limited to having two guests.
Others are postponing strict regulations until after the holiday period. Germany and Portugal, for instance, are set to tighten their pandemic rules post-Christmas, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to set new restrictions before the holiday.
Australia also shunned lockdowns as omicron infections spiked, while New Zealand delayed plans to reopen its borders until February. Weeks after readmitting tourists, Thailand decided to suspend its quarantine-free travel program. China, like before, returned to its campaign of mass contact tracing, testing, and lockdowns to quash the variant.
And some nations are still bracing for omicron’s spread. “We can see another storm coming,” said Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s Europe regional director. “Within weeks, omicron will dominate in more countries.”