‘No time to waste, have to relieve people of suffering’

United States President Joe Biden hopes the Senate clears the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, the country’s rescue plan, at the earliest

United States President Joe Biden has urged the Senate to quickly pass the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, which was approved by the House on Saturday. “Now the bill moves to the United States Senate where I hope it will receive quick action... we have no time to waste,” Biden said at the White House on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

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“If we act now - decisively, quickly, and boldly - we can finally get ahead of this virus. We can finally get our economy moving again,” he said. “And the people of this country have suffered far too much for too long. We need to relieve that suffering,” said the president. “And it’s time to act.” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also said on Saturday on the Twitter that as an economist and an American, she applauds “the House’s favourable vote on the American Rescue Plan.”

‘More help needed’
“There’s a broad consensus among economists: People need more help putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their head until the virus is under control. This plan does that,” she said. The rescue plan contains direct payments of $1400 per person for working families, which is on top of the $600 check in the $900 billion relief package approved in December.  It would also boost federal unemployment benefits to $400 dollars per week and extend the measure through the end of September.

Thailand starts vaccination
Thailand on Sunday started its COVID-19 vaccination roll-out, with the first shot, using China’s Sinovac vaccine, going to Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha presided over the event at the country’s infectious disease institute, where other officials, including deputy public health minister, agriculture minister, culture minister and deputy education minister, were also vaccinated.

PLA gives vaccines to Philippine army
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday delivered a batch of COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippine military. The vaccines were delivered at the Philippine military’s request and with the approval of the Central Military Commission, said China’s Ministry of National Defence.

SA vaccinates over 60K people in a week
South African Department of Health has said the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out is going well with 63,648 people vaccinated in a week since it started. “The Sisonke (Together) programme is outperforming original targets for number of vaccines delivered in its first week,” Department of Health spokesperson Popo Maja said.

Pakistan confirms presence of UK strain
Pakistan government has warned people to follow COVID-19 guidelines and get vaccinated as the country has confirmed the presence of the UK strain of COVID-19. The new strain was detected in the UK in December. It is hugely more transmissible than the virus’s previous version, BBC reported.

2,38,481
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

11,38,76,314
Total no. of cases worldwide

25,26,934
Total no. of deaths worldwide

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