“It will get worse before it gets better”: President Biden expects 100,000 Americans to die from COVID-19 during their first 6 weeks in office.
The big picture: Biden said he is putting the United States on a war footing against the virus by signing 10 executive orders today alone.
The plan includes:
- More supplies: Order new supplies of PPE, test materials and vaccines through the Defense Production Law.
- More funding: Increases federal reimbursement for National Guard personnel and emergency supplies.
- More masks: Requires on federal property and for people who are at airports and use various means of transport.
- More data: Massive efforts to collect federal “real time” data for schools, a public panel of cases, testing and vaccination and hospital admissions.
- More guidelines: It forces masks on airplanes and requires COVID tests before flying. Requires negative test for international travelers before leaving for the USA
- More help for schools: It orders the Department of Education and HHS to provide schools and local communities with resources to reopen schools safely.
The current situation: Biden’s executive orders are providing a more uniform approach to pandemic control across states, unlike the Trump administration, where governors and public health departments were responsible for coordinating most of the logistics.
Between the lines: Biden’s mask rules “come as close to a national mask mandate as their federal powers allow, because only states and municipalities can require residents to wear masks at the local level,” reports the Washington Post.
Conclusion: “You will hear a lot from Dr. Fauci again, ”Biden promised, saying that public health officials would be“ free from political interference ”.
- “We will be honest with you when we make a mistake,” he said, adding, “We are still in a dark winter of this pandemic. It will get worse before it gets better. It will take many months before we are where we need to be.”
- “Despite the best intentions, we will have setbacks, which I will always explain to you.”