Biden says ‘nothing we can do’ to change pandemic ‘trajectory’ in coming months

President Biden on Friday presented a grim outlook on the country’s ability to fight the coronavirus pandemic while calling on Congress to move forward with additional stimulus measures.

Biden spoke of his administration’s response efforts during a press briefing on two executive orders aimed at providing food assistance to low-income families and protecting workers’ rights during the pandemic. Days after the United States surpassed 400,000 COVID-19-related deaths, the president warned the country had little short-term capacity to prevent an increase in the number of cases.

“If we don’t act, there will be a wave of evictions and foreclosures in the months to come as this pandemic rages on, as there is nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the coming months,” Biden said.

Biden had promised efforts to revive the U.S. economy and providing aid to struggling Americans would be his top priority when entering the Oval Office. The two executive orders on Friday followed 10 other pandemic-related actions he had signed the day before, including a mandate requiring the wearing of masks on federal lands.

The president has faced some setback following his remarks on the trajectory of the pandemic. Critics, including former Michigan Representative Justin Amash, stressed that coronavirus-related restrictions imposed in several states were aimed at “flattening the curve.”

“Haven’t we been told for months that restrictions and mandates are needed to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the coming months?” Amash wrote on Twitter.

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Biden said the nation’s death toll “is expected to reach well over 600,000.” The President reiterated his call to Congress on his “American Rescue Plan,” a $ 1.9 trillion aid package that includes $ 1,400 in direct payments to Americans, improved unemployment benefits and federal aid to governments state and local.

“The American Rescue Plan calls on Congress to provide rent assistance for millions of hard-hit families and tenants,” Biden said. “It will also be a bridge to economic recovery for countless mom and family homeowners who can’t afford not to have rent.”