Joe Biden's first prime-time address to mark Covid shutdown anniversary amid calls for holding press conference
President Joe Biden has been accused by his critics of not meeting the media and even shutting down platforms of public communication. The new commander-in-chief is yet to make his State of the Union address this year reportedly because of the threat of domestic extremism. However, the White House on Monday, March 8, said that Biden is set to give his first prime-time address to the nation on Thursday, March 11, marking the first anniversary of the Covid-19 shutdowns that rocked America -- both in terms of public health and economic disasters.
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the president would use the address to “discuss the many sacrifices the American people have made over the last year and the grave loss communities and families across the country have suffered”. She also said that Biden will use the occasion to “look forward, highlighting the role that Americans will play in beating the virus and moving the country toward getting back to normal”.
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More than 29 million people have been hit by the deadly virus in the US with the death toll crossing 525,000 -- the most for any nation in the world. Economically, too, the country has taken a heavy toll and even though signs of recovery have been witnessed, yet the general belief is that the challenges are far from over.
Speech to follow Covid-19 relief bill becoming law
Besides coming on the anniversary of the lockdowns that were imposed to protect people from mass transmissions, Biden’s address will also come at a time when the government has undertaken a big relief measure to combat the pandemic. The House is expected to pass the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill this week, finalizing the package and delivering funds to individuals, families and schools and local governments across the nation. The Senate passed the bill last Saturday, March 6. Biden is expected to sign the bill into law and according to a New York Times report, the economic plan to combat the pandemic is not just a stimulus proposal but “a declaration of his economic policy -- one that captures the principle Democrats and liberal economists have espoused over the past decade: that the best way to stoke faster economic growth is from the bottom up”.
Biden’s address will also come in the wake of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issuing its first public health guidance that aims at allowing normal activities for people who have received a complete vaccine course. The CDC said such people can gather with small groups from other households without sporting masks or doing physical distancing, even if others have not had their vaccine shots. It though advised people with vaccinations to still follow the general safety guidelines of wearing masks and avoiding large and medium-scale public gatherings.