The Biden administration announced on Tuesday, December 21, several new health restrictions, including the opening of federal COVID-19 testing sites in New York, and purchasing 500 million at-home rapid tests.
These new health restrictions come as part of the US’s measure to curb the spread of the new Omicron variant.
To address citizen concerns about the availability of the tests, the Biden administration plans to offer half a billion at-home rapid tests, to be distributed for free to Americans who order them online, starting from January.
The decision to implement these health restrictions was prompted by the new variant’s rapid spread in the US, with 92% of cases reported in New York and New Jersey.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 73% of cases detected during the period from December 12 to 18 in the US have tested positive for the Omicron variant, as compared to only 7.9% positive cases for the Delta variant.
COVID-19 cases are increasing, with 144,967 new infections reported on average each day, representing 58% of the peak, according to the latest Reuters’ COVID Tracker, released on December 21.
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