President Biden said Friday that this is not the time to relax, and the warning that the number of cases and hospitalizations could rise again as new variants of the virus appear.
Why it matters: Biden, who made the remarks after a vaccination site in Houston, told CDC director Rochelle Walensky, who said earlier Friday, that although the United States has recently seen a decline in cases and hospitalizations, “these declines are the highest peak we have experienced is the pandemic. ‘
What they say: “We are watching these matters very closely to see where they will go in the next few days. But it is important to remember where we are in the pandemic,” Walensky said.
- “Things are tough. This is not the time to relax restrictions,” she added.
- “I want to make it clear: cases, hospital admissions and deaths remain very high, and the recent shift in the pandemic must be taken extremely seriously.”
In turn Biden said that “cases and hospitalizations may go up again as new variants emerge. ‘
- “And this is not the time to relax. We must continue to wash our hands, to remain socially distant, and to wear your mask for God’s sake. This is not a political statement. This is a patriotic thing to do. ”
The whole picture: Walensky said the country currently reports an average of 7 days of 66,350 COVID-19 cases and 2,000 per day, a slight increase from the seven-day average the CDC reported earlier this week.
- “The latest data suggests that these declines may come to a halt and may still be a very high number,” she said.
Go deeper: About 20% of American adults received the first dose of vaccine, the White House said.