Joe Biden says Covid-19 pandemic ‘is over’, as hundreds die in US every day
- In CBS interview, US president speaks about Covid-19, US inflation and Taiwan, but hedges if he’ll seek re-election
- Biden declares pandemic over, even as nearly 400 people still die in the US every day after testing positive for Covid-19
US President Joe Biden said in an interview aired on Sunday that “the pandemic is over”, even though the United States continues to grapple with coronavirus infections that kill hundreds of Americans daily.
“The pandemic is over,” Biden said during an interview conducted with CBS’ 60 Minutes on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show, an event which drew thousands of visitors.
“We still have a problem with Covid. 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.”
The toll of the Covid-19 pandemic has diminished significantly since early in Biden’s term when more than 3,000 Americans per day were dying, as enhanced care, medications and vaccinations have become more widely available.
But nearly 400 people a day continue to die from Covid-19 in the United States, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Biden spent more than two weeks isolated in the White House after two bouts with Covid-19, starting in July. 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.
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Biden has asked Congress for US$22.4 billion more in funding to prepare for a potential fall case surge.
In the interview, Biden issued forceful warnings to China and Russia and expressed optimism over the US economic rebound, but surprised many by hedging on whether he’ll seek re-election in 2024.
Biden, who turns 80 in November, told interviewer Scott Pelley that re-election is his “intention”.
“But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen,” he said.
“It’s much too early,” Biden said, calling himself “a great respecter of fate”.
Surveying the state of the world’s largest economy, Biden was optimistic.
“We’re going to get control of inflation,” he said.
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In another tough message to the United States’ biggest economic and geopolitical rival, Biden said he had warned President Xi Jinping not to support Russia militarily in its invasion of Ukraine.
He said he told Xi that US and other foreign investment in China would be disrupted and to think otherwise would be “a gigantic mistake”.
Despite his poor ratings and polls showing Democrats likely to lose control of at least one chamber of Congress, Biden said he is upbeat.
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Noting that employment is booming and the economy is strong, Biden said “we hope we can have, as they say, a soft landing.”
On questions whether at his age he is physically and mentally able to continue in the gruelling job, Biden said: “watch me”.
“It’s a matter of, you know, that old expression – ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’.”
When asked his source of inspiration when times get tough, Biden mentioned his son Beau who died in 2015 but also his parents’ exhortation to “just get up”.
Biden said he had “a lot more to give”.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse
