The Delta variant continues to dominate Covid-19 infections in the US while cases of the new Coronavirus variant have been detected in at least six states as of Friday.
On Friday, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said "I know that the news is focused on Omicron, but we should remember that 99.9 per cent of cases in the country right now are from the Delta variant,".
Walensky clarified that the current seven-day daily average of cases was about 86,400, the seven-day average of hospital admissions was about 6,300 per day, and the seven-day average of daily deaths was about 860.
CDC Director said majority of cases are among unvacciated hence she appealed Americans to get vaccinated or boosted because Delta continues to drive cases across the country.
Omicron cases touched six US states, so far. Nebraska, New York and Hawaii were the latest in the list.
According to President Joe Biden new rules announced on Thursday are "sufficient" to counter the spread of the Omicron variant.
Interestingly, during the press briefing on Friday, President Biden himself coughed and cleared his throat. To this he said "I'm OK. I have a test every day to see -- a Covid test. I've been checked in for all the strains... it's just a cold,".
From Monday, the stricter rules will be imposed in the country wherein the travellers flying into the country will require to test negative for Covid one day before their departure. Officials are scaling up rapid testing in US international airports.
To counter the new threat of Omicron variant the Biden administration is also expanding its nationwide booster campaign, by launching hundreds of new family vaccination clinics and making free at-home tests available to it's citizens.
