US to end COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11
FILE PHOTO: People walk outside wearing masks during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Harlem area of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., February 10, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden's administration on Monday (Jan 30) said it will end COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11, nearly three years after the United States imposed sweeping pandemic measures to curb the spread of the illness.
The COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency (PHE) were put in place in 2020 by the administration of then-President Donald Trump. Biden has repeatedly extended the measures, which were set to expire in the coming months.
The White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in a statement said the declarations would be extended again until May 11, and then terminated.
"This wind-down would align with the Administration’s previous commitments to give at least 60 days’ notice prior to termination of the PHE," OMB said in an administration policy statement.
OMB said in a separate statement that Biden would veto a proposed bill in the US Congress that would eliminate COVID-19 vaccine mandates for health care providers working on certain federal programmes.
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