With the new cases of Omicron variant across the US (73%), the administration of Joe Biden announced new travel rules just a few days back. On 21st December, Tuesday, the president’s administration further revealed the plans to deliver 500 million free Covid RT-PCR tests to the requesters via mail, amidst the current chaos caused by the skyrocketing cases of Omicron.
Mr. Biden will be addressing the country later by asking people to protect themselves as the Christmas and holiday season is right on the verge of getting started.
Omicron: How Much Risk Does It Process?
So, we are back to the familiar days- stressing over a new COVID variant!
The WHO (World Health Organization) has named it Omicron that derived from the Greek code-name pattern like the Delta and Alpha variants. Speaking of the present time, the virus has now been detected in almost eighty-nine countries and the worst news is that the number might increase with passing days.
Although 73% of adult US citizens have received both the dosages of the COVID vaccine, The matter of concern revolves around those who still have not taken their jabs. The senior official of Biden’s administration said-
“If you are still unvaccinated, your chances of getting infected is the highest.” He also expressed his concern over the fact that the new variant is immensely transmissible and the unvaccinated citizens are eight times more likely to get infected, be hospitalized, and fourteen times more likely to die from the virus.
In addition to that, the White House also conveyed that those measures of free rapid tests, announced by Mr. Joe Biden, would help to diminish the horrific impact the unvaccinated US citizens have on the entire country’s health care system. The Biden administration also added that “As of now there is no need to lock down our nation, or our economy.”
What Will Be the Fundamental Rules?
- The plan is to deliver 500 million free at-home rapid antigen or flow test kits to all American requesters since January 2022. Talking about the current price of over-the-counter kits, it is between the range of $7 to $15 and the availability might be sketchy in some localities
- Over the upcoming two months, the plan is to spread out around a thousand military medical troops to hospitals all over the country
- Expanding the capacity of hospitals and distributing critical supplies
As per the medical experts, the new variant of omicron might infect the vaccinated people as well, but the risk won’t be as much as the unvaccinated ones. However, the American President will address the Americans soon and he will stress over the need for wearing a mask (especially while traveling), maintaining social distancing (as much as possible), being cautious while celebrating.
Omicron has created quite a concern among US citizens. As a result, people in Washington, New York, and elsewhere are taking the rapid tests before meeting their friends and family members before the festive season approaches.
The Updates of Holidays!
On 21st December, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, canceled the New Year’s Eve event at Trafalgar Square because of the public safety issues amidst the Omicron spread. Queen Elizabeth II, 95, has canceled the royal Christmas celebration at Sandringham. Meanwhile, Times Square, NYC is on the final verge of New Year’s Eve decorations and it is not decided yet whether the events will take place there or not! However, soon Biden will be making a public announcement regarding the same.
