US COVID-19: In a major development, US President Joe Biden Monday asserted that he will end COVID-19 national emergency amid "the countries returning to normalcy". America imposed a national emergency in January 2020 after witnessing an abrupt surge in Coronavirus cases.
Initially, the health emergency was invoked by the then-US President Donald Trump and was later extended repeatedly by his successor Biden since he took office in January 2021. On Monday, the White House said Biden plans to extend briefly and will end on May 11.
“An abrupt end to the emergency declarations would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system — for states, for hospitals and doctors’ offices, and, most importantly, for tens of millions of Americans,” the Office of Management and Budget wrote in a Statement of Administration Policy.
Over 1.1 million people died due to COVID-19
Notably, over 11 lakh people in the country have died from the lethal virus since 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including about 3,700 last week. According to the health department, the country is currently reporting cases under 50,000 on a daily basis.
"To be clear, a continuation of these emergency declarations until May 11 does not impose any restriction at all on individual conduct with regard to COVID-19,” the administration said. “They do not impose mask mandates or vaccine mandates. They do not restrict school or business operations. They do not require the use of any medicines or tests in response to cases of COVID-19.”
Biden announcements related to COVID usually spark row
It is worth mentioning that the incumbent President had stated that the administration was mulling over ending the pandemic restrictions. However, the White House refuted his claims and continued on its stand until the 2022 midterm elections. Like earlier, his decision sparked a major row between his party Democrats and Opposition, the Republicans. The Opposition argued that the emergency had already been over. Interestingly, the Senate passed bipartisan legislation to end the state of emergency in November.
(With inputs from agency)
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