President Biden confirmed Thursday his plan to make available “free, high-quality masks” to household across America as the Omicron-variant spreads across all 50 states; vowing to release more details “next week.”
Biden also announced the government will be purchasing an additional 500 million Covid-19 tests, adding to the 500 million tests he previously announced.
President Biden says free high-quality face masks will be made available to all Americans, with more details to come next week. https://t.co/0YXMHs6yi9
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) January 13, 2022
“I know we all wish could finally be done with wearing masks, I get it, but they are a really important tool to stop the spread, especially of the highly transmissible Omicron variant,” Biden said from the White House.
“I know we’re all frustrated as we enter this new year — the Omicron variant is causing millions of cases and record hospitalizations,” he added. “Right now, both vaccinated and unvaccinated people are testing positive, but what happens after that could not be more different.”
“We were joking earlier — but we weren’t really joking: When you need something done, call in the military,” said the Commander-in-Chief, announcing his plan to deploy the US military to support staff in hotspots like New York and other places.
“These teams will be providing relief, triaging patients, helping to decompress overwhelmed emergency departments, and freeing up health care providers to continue other lifesaving care. They will be working alongside health care workers on the front lines to give them the support they need,” a White House official said on Monday night.
Read the full report here.
