Coronavirus: US reaches 100 million vaccinations as Europe struggles to speed up roll-out
- The CDC updated guidance to say that fully vaccinated Americans can travel without observing quarantines
- Meanwhile, Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said he had tested positive for Covid-19 and was in isolation
The US reported surging job growth and loosened travel curbs as it reached around half of its adult population with at least one dose, with President Joe Biden vowing to cover the vast majority within weeks.
Led by a revival in the leisure and hospitality industries, the US economy created a mammoth 916,000 jobs in March, the Labour Department said.
But infections remain on the rise in parts of the country, prompting Biden to urge Americans to keep wearing masks and taking other precautions to stop the pandemic that has killed more than 2.8 million people worldwide.
“I plead with you. Don’t give back the progress we’ve all fought so hard to achieve,” Biden said in a brief address.
“We need to finish this job,” he said. “We need every American to buckle down and keep their guard up in this homestretch.”