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.”

Biden tells Americans to mask up to stop fourth wave

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, updated guidance to say that fully vaccinated people can travel without observing quarantines, although they should still wear masks.

Some of Europe’s vaccination woes come from its reliance on the AstraZeneca jab, yet to be approved in the US, after reports of blood clotting.

Such incidents are rare and the European Medicines Agency has said AstraZeneca is safe. But the Netherlands on Friday followed Germany in halting jabs of the vaccine for people under the age of 60.

“We must err on the side of caution, which is why it is wise to press the pause button now as a precaution,” Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said.

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China pushes mass vaccinations to build herd immunity against Covid-19

China pushes mass vaccinations to build herd immunity against Covid-19

Only 10 per cent of Europe’s total population has received one vaccine dose, and four per cent have received two, according to the World Health Organization.

The WHO director for Europe, Hans Kluge, on Thursday called the roll-out “unacceptably slow.”

Also complicating vaccination efforts is that India, often dubbed the “pharmacy of the world,” has slowed down exports as it battles a major surge.

China as well as Russia have stepped up exports of their own vaccines.

Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac said it will double capacity to produce its vaccine to two billion doses a year.

One of the worst Covid-19 crises in the world is unfolding in Brazil, which has reported more deaths than any country after the US with a staggering 66,500 Covid-19 fatalities in March alone.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro overhauls cabinet as coronavirus pressure mounts

Latin America’s infections have soared past 25 million, according to an AFP tally, likely fuelled by a seemingly more contagious variant first detected in Brazil.

Rio de Janeiro on Friday extended restrictions, saying that hospitalisation had started to level off for the first time in weeks.

“You have to give a little more time, no matter how hard it is for companies and for those looking for work to earn a living. These decreases in people-to-people contact are already paying off,” Mayor Eduardo Paes told reporters.

The city’s famous beaches will remain off limits until April 19, when a daily nighttime curfew will also be lifted. But he said that schools would reopen for in-person classes on Tuesday.

The devastation in Brazil has frightened neighbours already battling their own surging caseloads. Peru and Ecuador announced fresh restrictions and Bolivia sealed the Brazilian border.

“We are in a very critical moment of the pandemic,” Chilean government spokesman Jaime Bellolio said as he announced a closure of borders starting Monday.

Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez announced late on Friday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. He had received the two-shot Sputnik V vaccine from Russia.

The president, who turned 62 on Friday, was in isolation as a precaution but said he was “physically well”.

“Although I would have liked to end my birthday without this news,” he said, “I am also in good spirits.”