UPDATE 2- “Things are precarious,” says US CDC as downtrend in COVID-19 cases stagnates

(Add quotes from officials)

WASHINGTON, Feb.26 (Reuters) – The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that a recent drop in COVID-19 cases may be slowing, a development she described as worrying while urging to keep the safeguards to fight the virus in place.

Dr Rochelle Walensky told reporters that the number of cases had increased in the past three days compared to the previous week and that the decline in hospitalizations and deaths “potentially stabilized at a still very high number”.

Walensky has painted a critical picture of the current state of the pandemic.

“Things are fragile. Now is not the time to relax restrictions. Cases, hospital admissions and deaths all remain very high and the recent change in pandemic must be taken very seriously. “

States and cities have gradually lifted restrictions in recent weeks. New York City reopened indoor restaurants earlier this month and Massachusetts plans to remove restaurant capacity limits starting in March. Montana and Iowa lifted statewide mask requirements earlier this month, while North Dakota’s mask mandate expired in January.

The White House on Friday urged companies to unite their efforts to fight the pandemic by requiring employees to wear masks and educating customers.

Andy Slavitt, senior advisor to the White House COVID-19 response team, listed a number of companies taking action to help fight the pandemic and urged more to join.

He announced what he described as a new partnership between the Biden administration and major business organizations to push the private sector to encourage companies to demand masks and social distancing to protect employees and customers, facilitate the vaccinating employees with incentives; and educating the public on the benefits of masks and vaccines.

“We are asking companies to amplify the CDC’s messages about masking and vaccinations on their products, properties and websites,” Slavitt said.

Ford and Gap produced and donated millions of masks, he said, while Best Buy, Target and Dollar General gave workers paid time off or paid them to get vaccinated.

Uber, PayPal and Walgreens have teamed up to provide $ 10 million in free rides to vaccination sites, he said, while Lyft has partnered with CVS and the YMCA to provide $ 60 million in free rides or at a reduced price at vaccination sites.

The White House is working on a massive campaign to educate Americans about the vaccine as it seeks to bring the pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 people in the United States under control.

President Joe Biden on Thursday raised concerns that later this spring vaccine supply would exceed demand due to vaccine reluctance.

Moderna Inc said on Wednesday it was working with U.S. government scientists to investigate an experimental recall that targets a worrying new variant of the coronavirus.

Infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said the study, which will be led by the National Institutes of Health, will begin in mid-March and that there was no plan yet to start manufacture the experimental booster on a large scale as it is unclear whether the new B1351 variant first found in South Africa will become a dominant variant in the United States.