President said Friday that new travel measures the administration is imposing are ‘sufficient’ to combat the variant and indicated a vaccine requirement was not needed for domestic air travel.
He spoke to vaccines and other measures at the a day after he spoke at the National Institutes of Health to roll out other measures to deal with rising cases and the anticipated spread of the variant.
‘The measures that I announced yesterday we believe are sufficient to deal with proper medical precautions to deal with the spread of this new variant,’ Biden said, asked if he was considering a vaccine requirement for domestic fliers.
Under the new policy, even vaccinated Americans will need to show proof of a negative test when flying to the U.S.There is not requirement that domestic fliers show either proof of vaccination or a negative test.
Biden’s comment comes amid a spike in U.S. coronavirus cases and data showing the rapid spread of the new variant.
The U.S.recorded 3,800 daily COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. This is the highest figure recorded since September 3, when 3,910 deaths were recorded and the U.S. was in the midst of the fourth wave fueled by the Delta variant, a DailyMail.com analysis shows.
The U.S.also recorded 140,875 daily new cases on Thursday with a seven-day rolling average of 101,119, the first time the rolling average has reached six figures since October 6.
So far, 11 cases have been confirmed in the U.S. including five in New York City, two in California and Minnesota one each in Colorado and Hawaii.
The emergence of the new variant prompted Biden to announce a slate of new policies and renew the administration’s push for vaccinations and booster shots.At the same time, Biden has repeatedly urged Americans not to ‘panic’ – and his made public statements ruling out ‘lockdowns.’
‘The measures that I announced yesterday we believe are sufficient to deal with proper medical precautions to deal with the spread of this new variant,’ President Joe Biden said Friday
Addressing the spread of Omicron, Biden said: ‘We are doing …at NIH as well as among the manufacturers a lot of research to see the extent of how quickly it spreads, how deadly it is, etc. etc. But we do require for travel, we’re going to continue to require people have masks on, masks on, and in in public places and in federal buildings,’ he said.
‘But I don’t at this point … I think I know a fair amount about this issue, but I’m not a scientist.So I continue to rely on the scientists and asking them whether or not we have to move beyond what we did yesterday. Right now they’re saying no.’ He spoke a day after meeting with top government scientists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Biden spoke about the new travel rules in response to questions at the White House
His voice was noticeably lower and he coughed during the event.Biden said he likely caught a cold from his grandson, Beau
In addition to the testing measure for international travelers, the administration is extending a mask requirement for bus, rail, and air travel.
U.S.citizens and other international travelers are rushing to figure out how they will comply with the Biden administration’s new requirement that in-bound passengers present proof of a fresh negative covid test before boarding.
The new regulations – which Biden announced yesterday and which the Centers for Disease Control put out in a new amended order – require all in-bound international travelers to show proof of a negative COVID test before boarding their flight to the U.S.
The rule applies regardless of vaccination status, and applies to U.S.citizens as well as foreign visitors. It also applies to those with U.S. layovers en route to other destinations.
‘If you plan to travel internationally, you will need to get a viral test (regardless of vaccination status or citizenship) no more than 1 day before you travel by air into the United States.You must show your negative result to the airline before you board your flight,’ according to the amended order released by the Thursday.
In-bound travelers will be required to show proof of a negative covid test no more than one day before their travel.The amended rule applies to U.S. citizens
The full 30-page amended order provides more detail on the time frame, requiring ‘a negative pre-departure viral test result for SARS-CoV-2 conducted on a specimen collected no more than 1 calendar day before the flight’s departure from a foreign country.’
Or, travelers can provide documents showing they recovered from covid and are cleared for travel by a doctor, including a positive test result from within the last 90 days.
The requirement comes amid new warnings about the transmissibility of the Omicron variant.
It puts a premium on testing facilities in overseas locations – and puts a cost burden on incoming travelers, including Americans.There are already concerns about availability of testing. Foreign visitors previously had a 72-hour window to get a test result – a burden that is easier to meet and usually carries a much cheaper price at paid testing facilities.
An online search Friday found prices for 24-hour PCR testing ranging from $70 to $130 in such cities as London, Amsterdam, and Dubai.The order goes into effect Dec. 6th.
The change comes amid an increase in travel and the spread of the Omicron variant
Travelers either must show a negative result or demonstrate they have recovered from covid with a positive test a physician’s letter clearing them for travel
President said Thursday he hopes his new coronavirus plan could ‘put the divisiveness behind us,’ as he called for more testing, urged booster shots, and new testing requirements for international travelers
The travel measure is part of an overall push to improve testing as the nation faces yet another coronavirus mutation
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about the difficulty of getting covid tests in some foreign locales with a 24-hour turnaround.
‘Well, as we’re implementing any of these policies, we obviously take into consideration – we take into consideration, as you know, in our prior announcement about requirement of vaccination …in countries where that wasn’t available. I will check and see if there’s any exemptions or anything that is going to be applicable in the same regard,’ she said.
The new plan, Комиксы о Бэтмене, learn here, going into effect ‘early next week,’ makes no exceptions for vaccination status.
‘This tighter testing timetable provides an added degree of protection as scientists continue to study the variant,’ Biden said in a speech Thursday at the National Institutes of Health.
However, the announcement was vague over whether travelers will have to take a PCR test – which could take days to produce a result – or if rapid tests will be acceptable.Many countries require a PCR test for foreign visitors.
Biden flew to NIH to spell out new efforts to provide boosters, more testing, and vaccines to combat covid and the Omicron variant – and said he ‘strongly’ supports a review of getting jabs to children under 5.
The president said Americans should be prepared for a rise in coronavirus cases over the winter, but maintained it should simply be a cause for concern rather than panic.
His administration is rolling out a multi-faceted approach to tackle the pandemic after cases of the Omicron variant were detected in California and Minnesota.
That could potentially include further restrictions on domestic travel – asked today about the possibility of a ban on unvaccinated domestic flyers, White House Press Secretary said ‘nothing is off the table.’
In South Africa’s Omicron epicenter, Gauteng province, the R rate has increased from one to 3.5 in less than a month, meaning a person ill with COVID-19 will infect 3.5 people on average who come into contact with them
As of Friday, 10 cases identified in the U.S.including five in New York City, two in California and one each in Colorado, Hawaii and Minnesota
Mask-wearing will also be required in all mass transit hubs and airports until March 18.The mandate had been set to expire on January 18.
Biden flew to the National Institutes of Health to spell out new efforts to provide boosters, more testing, and vaccines to combat covid and the Omicron variant – and said he ‘strongly’ supports a review of getting jabs to children under the age of five.
He also introduced stricter guidelines for international travelers – including a COVID test within 24 hours of their flight to the U.S.- extended mask mandates on public transport until March 2022, and said insurers would cover the cost of at-home tests for Americans.
His speech came an hour after the CDC confirmed a second case of the Omicron super-strain had been found in the US, this time in a vaccinated Minnesota man who attended an anime convention in New York last month.The first was detected in California on Wednesday.
The Omicron super variant is at least 2.4 times more likely to reinfect someone than the original strain, according to the first real-world data coming out of South Africa where it is fuelling a meteoric rise in infections.
Government researchers say there has been 35,670 reinfections since the beginning of the pandemic and the risk of reinfection fell to 0.7 during the Beta-fuelled second wave last winter and the third Delta surge this summer compared to the first wave.
South Africa has experienced a massive surge in Covid cases since the variant was first discovered, with the nation reporting 11,535 new cases on Thursday after averaging less than 500 new cases per day only two weeks ago.
The news of the variant’s spread in the U.S.comes on the heels of a holiday party in Norway that is believed to be the largest Omicron variant outbreak to date, with at least 50 vaccinated attendees testing positive.
