On Friday’s press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed that the country would not have more lockdown, despite the surging COVID causes due to the highly transmittable delta variant.
Psaki claimed that the Biden administration is stronger and more powerful than when they took office
The press secretary was questioned by reporter Stephanie Ramos about the lockdown measures that the White House would impose, asking whether Americans should anticipate another lockdown.
Psaki answered, claiming that the times nowadays are different compared to before. Psaki stated the first message that the Biden administration wanted to give is that we are not in March 2020 nor in January 2021 anymore.
White House on potential lockdowns: 'We are not going back' or 'turning back the clock': White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that the country was not headed toward more lockdowns despite a surge in the delta variant of the coronavirus. https://t.co/Zht17dNdCS pic.twitter.com/sOFSHni9Aj
— USA News (@1USNews) August 6, 2021
Psaki also claimed that the Biden administration would see to it that the country will not experience another economic lockdown again, nor have schools closed again. The press secretary then mentioned that the current administration is more powerful and stronger, compared to when they first took office.
Afterward, Psaki then mentioned how the COVID pandemic was handled by the president and his administration, insisting that they will not be turning back the clock again.
Over the past weeks, the White House was frustrated by the overwhelming surge of cases. Questions also surfaced on whether Biden declared freedom from COVID-19 too soon.
Yet, the arrival of the more contagious delta variant is not a surprise, as the strain has been infecting people widely in the United Kingdom and India. Then, when the variant of the virus came into the country, it compromised the health of those who are still unvaccinated.
The United States recorded a record high number of COVID cases
The recent data also suggest that over 100,000 new cases every single day were being recorded in America, numbers that are ten times higher compared to the numbers recorded in June.
Yet, the Biden administration declares that they are not alarmed by these numbers; the White House claimed they are taking a more aggressive method in urging more people to get the vaccine. The press secretary also claimed that they are scouts when it comes to preparing for the pandemic.
Then, Amazon this week announced to their employees that they do not have to report to their offices until next year, as suspension of in-person office work was implemented. According to experts, this move will more likely be followed by other companies and will continue to deprive metropolitan cities of commuters.
The fast-spreading delta variant won't force the U.S. into another lockdown, Jean-Pierre says pic.twitter.com/movTVbl7ws
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) July 31, 2021
The announcement made by Psaki, however, was a big sigh for Americans after going through lockdowns and stringent COVID measures for over a year.
Principal Deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also mentioned last week that the White House would continue to listen to experts and scientists when looking at how to handle lockdown and school closures.
