Joe Biden pushes ahead with ambitious Covid-19 plan

New restrictions put in place for travel to the US

President Joe Biden waves after attending Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, Washington. Patrick Semansky / AP

Less than a week since President Joe Biden took office, he is launching plans to help curb the rise in coronavirus cases in the US.

The country has reported about 25 million cases including 400,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The Biden Administration is expected to reimpose a Covid-19 travel ban on most non-US citizens who have been in countries from which new, more contagious variants of the virus appeared, including Britain, Brazil and South Africa.

Last week, the president tightened mask-wearing rules and ordered quarantine for people flying into the US, a measure resisted by President Trump and previously established on a state-by-state basis instead.

“We’re in a national emergency. It’s time we treated it like one,” Mr Biden told reporters.

He said his strategy to combat the virus would be based on science.

The order also requires that all US-bound passengers ages two and up test negative for the coronavirus within three days of travelling.

Mr Biden and his coronavirus response team have stressed that the pandemic is far from over.

Despite efforts to continue a wide roll-out of the vaccine and a goal of 100 million vaccinations in the first 100 days, they expect the death toll to rise to half a million by next month. But after a slow start to the vaccine programme, the number of Covid-19 jabs administered is now close to one million per day.

As many as 67 million Americans are expected to enjoy protection from the virus by the summer, according to the government's infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci.

Two doses are required for optimum protection from the virus.

Besides working to curb the continued rise in cases, the Biden administration and congressional Democrats are working towards passing a new $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package.

The new package, less than a week since its announcement, has hit a few snags as a result of pushback from Republicans.

It would include further stimulus checks as well as an expansion of unemployment benefits. Nearly 10 million Americans are unemployed, and thousands of businesses have closed since the pandemic's start, pushing the US further into an economic crisis.

A resident receives the coronavirus vaccine at Hamilton Park Nursing and Rehabilitation, a nursing home facility in Brooklyn, New York. Yuki Iwamura / Reuters

A healthcare worker with the Florida Department of Health in Broward prepares to administer a Covid-19 vaccine at a drive-thru vaccination site at Vista View Park in Davie, Florida. Joe Raedle / Getty Images / AFP

A volunteer walks past a sign with directions for drivers leaving the vaccination area outside of Broadbent Arena at the Kentucky State Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Jon Cherry / Getty Images / AFP

Passengers arrive on a flight from London amid restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus at JFK International Airport in New York City. Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

A red tag hangs on a cell door, signifying an active Covid-19 case for its inhabitants, at Faribault Prison, in Faribault, Minnesota. Aaron Lavinsky /Star Tribune via AP

Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit, Dr. Thomas Yadegar, checks the vital signs of Mindy Cross while her husband Dr. Neil Hecht (R) rests in a bed next to her at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana, California. Apu Gomes / AFP

Healthcare workers treat patients infected with the coronavirus at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Callaghan O'Hare / Reuters

Emergency room check-in tents are shown outside the UCI Medical Center in Orange, California. Mike Blake / Reuters