US President Joe Biden declared that "the pandemic is over" even as the country continues to record fresh covid infection-related death. “We still have a problem with covid,” Biden said on CBS Network's popular show '60 Minutes' which aired on Sunday. "We're still doing a lotta work on it. But the pandemic is over...If you notice, no one's wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it's changing," Biden said.
Biden commented on the covid situation during an interview recorded on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show, where a large gathering was present.
The death toll from the covid has witnessed a significant decrease since early in Biden's term when more than 3,000 Americans per day were dying before care, medications and vaccinations became more widely available. However, almost 400 people die from Covid-19 on a daily basis continue in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since July, Biden isolated for almost two weeks in the White House after two bouts with Covid-19. His wife Jill contracted the virus in August.
Biden has said the mild cases were a testament to the improvements in care during his presidency. Biden has directed Congress for $22.4 billion more funding to gear up for a likely surge in cases in the fall season.
Meanwhile, one of the top US health economists Dr Eric Fegl-Ding on Twitter responded to the claims of the US President.
“Heck no. With all due respect, @JoeBiden — you’re wrong. Pandemic is not over. Almost 3,000 Americans are dying from #COVID19 every single week. A weekly 9/11 is a very big deal. Don’t even get me started on #LongCOVID—wreaking havoc on millions more," he tweeted.
The US health expert further added that according to the CDC’s own data, 93.89% of counties in the US are experiencing substantial or high community transmission of COVID.