欧美文化:U.S. experts urge caution amid wide drop of COVID-19 mandates

NEW YORK, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Advisers and experts have urged the White House to take additional steps to combat coronavirus and reduce the risk of other infectious diseases, with the goal of avoiding the societal disruptions that have characterized the past two years.

Vaccinate 85 percent of Americans against the coronavirus; ensure that people experiencing long COVID-19 can get disability benefits; develop a plan to restore trust in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) -- these are among the 250 recommendations they issued on Monday.

"The nation is not yet at the next normal," the experts, including six members from the COVID-19 advisory board of U.S. President Joe Biden's transition team, prominent researchers and former leaders of the CDC and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, wrote in their 136-page report.

The group of medical luminaries warned against "complacency, inaction, or premature triumphalism" in the fight against the coronavirus, while trying to lay out a "road map" to help Americans get back to our more normal routines, according to The Washington Post.

NYC DROPS MASK MANDATE

Masks are now optional for public school children in New York City from kindergarten on up. Monday is a day some have yearned for and others think has come too soon, triggered by the decision by Mayor Eric Adams to lift the mask mandate in New York City schools. The move came hours after Governor Kathy Hochul announced she would lift the statewide mandate, reported The New York Times on Monday.

The NYC Department of Education said it will continue to require daily health screenings and that students returning from suspected coronavirus infections must wear masks for several days. In addition, the department strongly recommends that students or staff exposed to the virus wear face coverings, although it does not require them to do so, according to the report.

Since the Omicron surge has been ebbing, pandemic restrictions have been lifted in many states, including New York, allowing local officials to make their own determinations on masks. In Connecticut, the decision was turned over to localities late last month, while in New Jersey, rules similar to New York's go into effect today, said the report.

"Like so many virus restriction rollbacks, this one has been met with an anxious mix of excitement, hope and concern," reported The New York Times, noting that while NYC has a vaccination rate that is above the national figure, rates among children have continued to lag, and are not consistent across schools.

FOUR MORE FREE TESTS

Americans will be able to order more free coronavirus tests from the government starting this week, reported USA Today on Monday. President Biden announced during his State of the Union address that even if you've already ordered free tests, "you can order more from covidtests.gov."

Americans were able to start ordering the free tests from the covidtests.gov website on Jan. 18, part of the Biden administration's purchase of 500 million tests announced in December. Initially, the program allowed for four free at-home tests per residential address.

Starting this week, "every home in the U.S. will be able to order an additional set of 4 tests," the government website said. A credit card isn't needed to order the tests on the government site and there is no cost. Once ordered, tests are expected to be mailed within seven to 12 days.

"Let's stop looking at COVID as a partisan dividing line and see it for what it is: a God-awful disease," Biden said in a tweet following his December announcement of his plan to make half a billion tests available to Americans by mail. "Let's stop seeing each other as enemies -- and start seeing each other for who we really are: fellow Americans."