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President Biden said on Friday that “now is not the time to relax” coronavirus mitigation efforts and warned that the number of cases and hospitalizations could rise again as new variants of the virus emerge .
Why is this important: Biden, who made the remarks after visiting a vaccination site in Houston, echoed CDC director Rochelle Walensky, who said earlier Friday that although the United States has recently seen a drop in cases and of hospitalizations, “these drops follow the highest peak we have seen in the pandemic.”
What they say: “We are monitoring this worrying data very closely to see where it will go over the next few days. But it is important to remember where we are in the pandemic,” Walensky said.
- “Things are precarious. Now is not the time to relax restrictions,” she added.
- “I want to be clear: the cases, hospital admissions and deaths all remain very high, and the recent pandemic change needs to be taken very seriously.”
For his part, Biden says that “cases and hospitalizations could go up as new variants emerge. “
- “And now is not the time to relax. We must continue to wash our hands, to stay socially distant, and for goodness sake, wear your mask. It is not a political statement. It’s a patriotic thing to do.
The big picture: Walensky said the country is currently reporting a 7-day average of 66,350 COVID-19 cases and 2,000 per day, a slight increase from the seven-day averages reported by the CDC earlier this week.
- “The latest data suggests that these declines could be stagnating, potentially leveling off at, again, a very high number,” she said.
Go further: About 20% of U.S. adults received first dose of vaccine, White House says
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