US President Joe Biden is expected to announce on Thursday that the country's 2.1 million federal workers will be required to prove they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 or else submit to frequent coronavirus testing and other mitigation steps, multiple US media outlets reported.
The vaccine mandate will not be finalised until Thursday, Bloomberg and CNN said, while cautioning that final specifics were still being worked out.
The plan comes amid a spike in cases experts are blaming on people who have shunned the vaccine, allowing the highly contagious Delta variant to spread across the country.
Mr Biden said on Tuesday he was weighing a vaccine requirement for federal workers and that he will deliver a speech on the US fight against the pandemic on Thursday.
Federal workers who do not confirm they have been vaccinated may be required to wear masks, even in communities without substantial virus spread, in addition to undergoing regular tests, Bloomberg reported.
The Biden administration is laying out a series of steps to beat back the virus surge, which poses not only a major public health challenge but a serious political threat to the president. Mr Biden had counted on plummeting case rates to anchor the economic recovery and his policy agenda.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention tightened its mask guidance on Tuesday, advising Americans to wear masks in public indoor places located in areas with substantial spread, regardless of vaccination status. That led the White House to force staff and reporters to begin covering their faces again while inside the complex, after the District of Columbia’s case rate spiked.
The vaccine mandate for federal workers also follows a Monday announcement by the Department of Veterans Affairs that it will require all its front-line healthcare workers to be vaccinated.
The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, an AFL-CIO affiliate that represents roughly 30,000 federal workers, said it “fully supports” a vaccination requirement for the federal workforce.
“This is not an easy decision President Biden made, but it’s the right one for our members and for the nation,” the union said in a statement. Other labour groups representing federal employees have not yet weighed in.
The US recorded more than 71,000 new cases on Tuesday, driving the rolling seven-day average up to 59,700, the Bloomberg Covid-19 Tracker showed. The average case rate is more than four times higher than it was three weeks ago, before the Delta variant became the dominant US strain.
NBC also reported that Mr Biden would issue a vaccine mandate for federal workers.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULTS
5pm Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Munfared, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Dergham Athbah, Pat Dobbs, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Rajee, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
7pm Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Kerless Del Roc, Fernando Jara, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner Pharoah King, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8pm Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner Sauternes Al Maury, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
The biog
Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.
Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.
Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.
Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.
