Omicron variant: Joe Biden tries to reassure Americans and warns the unvaccinated

Published on : 12/21/2021 – 9:53 PM

Faced with the threat of the Omicron variant, Joe Biden tries to calm the spirits. The US president assured Tuesday, December 21, that the country was “ready”, repeating that there was no reason to “panic”, despite the sharp rise in contamination.

“We must all be concerned about Omicron” but “we must not panic,” hammered the US president, adding: “We are not in March 2020. We are ready.”

He cited “three big differences” with the start of the pandemic, first of all the vaccines, but also the abundance of personal protective equipment for caregivers having to deal with the influx of non-vaccinated people in the hospitals. hospitals, or the knowledge accumulated on this virus.

Vaccination, a “patriotic duty”

Joe Biden was however keen to warn those who are not fully vaccinated, saying they had “good reason to be concerned” and that it was their “patriotic duty” to get vaccinated.

The Omicron variant represented 73.2% of new Covid-19 contaminations last week in the United States.

The US president also said he “plans” to lift travel restrictions on eight African countries, with the Omicron variant having now spread around the world.

Arriving on American soil is currently prohibited for people coming from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.

With AFP