Covid-19 in the United States: Federal employees forced to be vaccinated or tested and masked

Published on : 07/29/2021 – 22:59

As the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19 raises fears of a new wave of the epidemic in the United States, US President Joe Biden has taken a series of measures to boost vaccination in the country, including the obligation to millions of federal employees either to be vaccinated or to comply with a series of constraints, the White House said in a statement released Thursday, July 29.

Unvaccinated federal employees will therefore be required to wear the mask continuously, even in areas where Covid-19 circulation is low, and to undergo regular tests, once or twice a week.

They will also be limited in their movements, according to this press release released shortly before a speech by the American president.

Without going as far as the pure and simple vaccination obligation, it is however a change of course for the Biden administration which until now refused to associate any idea of ​​constraint with vaccination, insisting more on the responsibility. individual and messages of encouragement. The federal state employs four million people, including two million civilians.

$ 100 for a vaccination

Regarding the military, the US president asks the military to think about “how and when” to add the vaccine against Covid-19 to the list of mandatory vaccines for the military.

Joe Biden also calls on local authorities to pay $ 100 to anyone being vaccinated, drawing for this from the emergency funds released to deal with the pandemic.

The United States is trying to relaunch a vaccination campaign which, after a booming start, tends to settle down, even as the very rapid spread of the Delta variant worries health authorities.

With AFP and Reuters