Biden: Hospitals will suffer from stress because of Corona... and there is no need to panic

US President Joe Biden said that some US hospitals could witness "stress" due to the large number of people infected with the emerging coronavirus (Covid-19), but he stressed that the country is well prepared to face the high number of cases, calling on his citizens not to panic.

In a virtual meeting hosted by the White House with several state governors and senior health advisers, Biden stressed that the rapid spread of the omicron would not have the same effect as previous Covid waves, adding: "Omicron is a concern, but it should not be a source of panic."

He continued, "Because many vaccines and boosters have been given, we are not seeing a rise in hospitalizations as it was in the past... Americans have made progress. The situation is better."

He continued: "With the increase in the number of injuries, we still have tens of millions of people who are not immunized and we are witnessing an increase in the number of hospitalizations," noting that "hospitals in some areas will witness a strain in terms of equipment and staff."

He also acknowledged that despite the availability of a large number of tests, they are still insufficient.

"Seeing how difficult it is for some people to get tested this weekend shows we have more work to do," he said.

Biden emphasized that in addition to increasing the number of free testing sites, the administration is pushing for more home testing.

"There was nothing when we took over. Nothing. Now we have eight (brands) on the market," he added.

The United States recorded a higher number of deaths from the epidemic than any other country, exceeding 816,000 deaths and 52 million injuries.

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