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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 stalling, a development she described as worrying, while urging it that security measures to combat the virus remain in place.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters that the number of cases had increased in the last three days compared to the previous week and that the decline in hospitalizations and deaths also “may have leveled off at still a very high number.”
Walensky sketched a critical picture of the current state of the pandemic.
‘Things are weak. Now is not the time to relax restrictions. Cases, hospital admissions and deaths all remain very high and the recent shift in the pandemic must be taken extremely seriously. “
States and cities have gradually lifted the restrictions in recent weeks. New York City reopened in-house dining earlier this month, and Massachusetts plans to lift limits on restaurant capacity 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 urged companies on Friday to collaborate in the fight against the pandemic by requiring employees to wear masks and educate customers.
Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser to the White House’s COVID-19 response team, listed a number of companies taking steps to aid in the pandemic struggle and urged more to join.
He announced what he described as a new partnership between Biden’s administration and leading business organizations to encourage the private sector to encourage companies to demand masks and social distancing to protect employees and customers, making it easier for employees to enter vaccinated with incentives, and give education. the public about the benefits of masks and vaccines.
“We are asking companies to reinforce CDC masking and vaccination messages on their products, properties and websites,” Slavitt said.
Ford and the Gap produced and donated millions of masks, he said, while Best Buy, Target and Dollar General gave workers paid time off or compensated them to receive vaccines.
Uber, PayPal and Walgreens teamed up to provide $ 10 million in free rides to vaccination sites, he said, while Lyft partnered with CVS and the YMCA to offer $ 60 million free or discounted to vaccination sites.
The White House is working on a wide-ranging campaign to educate Americans about the vaccine as it seeks to contain the pandemic that killed more than 500,000 people in the United States.
President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that vaccine supply would exceed demand later this spring due to vaccine reluctance.
Moderna Inc said Wednesday it is working with US government scientists to study an experimental booster shot targeting a worrying new variant of the coronavirus.
Infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said the study, which will be conducted by the National Institutes of Health, will start in mid-March and there was no plan yet to produce the experimental booster at scale. as it is unclear whether the new B1351 variant first found in South Africa will become a dominant variant in the United States.
Reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington and Carl O’Donnell in New York; additional reporting by Lisa Lambert Edit by Chizu Nomiyama and Mark Heinrich