President Biden said on Friday he would extend the national emergency first declared in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The term of the additional powers expired on March 1.
The solution contained in Biden’s letter to Congress released by the White House comes as the wave of coronavirus cases caused by the highly contagious Omicron variant recedes in the United States and many states and localities. loosen pandemic restrictions.
But the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the country. As of Friday, more than 75,000 Americans have been hospitalized with the virus. Deaths that are weeks behind in counting cases growing in 14 statesand remain at nearly 2,300 per day across the country.
“The Covid-19 pandemic continues to pose a significant public health and security risk to the nation,” Mr. Biden wrote in the letter. “More than 900,000 people in this country have died from this disease, and it is imperative that we continue to fight and respond to Covid-19 with the full strength and capabilities of the federal government.”
The state of emergency in the country gives special powers. This frees the federal government from some legal restrictions, allowing it to spend extra money and take certain actions more easily.
The pandemic emergency would have expired if Mr. Biden had not warned Congress of his intention to extend it.
President Donald J. Trump first announced the pandemic was declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020. Mr. Trump said more action was needed to combat the virus, which at the time was known to infect 1,645 people in the United States – a number that now exceeds 78 million.