No intention of imposing new shutdowns: White House amid Omicron surge

Washington: The Biden Administration has clarified that it has no intention of imposing new shutdowns amid a surge in Omicron variant across the US.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that President Joe Biden will "issue a stark warning and make clear unvaccinated individuals will continue to drive hospitalizations and deaths" in his COVID-19 address on Tuesday.

"This is not a speech about locking the country down," Psaki said. 

"This is a speech outlining and being direct and clear with the American people about the benefits of being vaccinated, the steps we`re going to take to increase access and to increase testing, and the risks posed to unvaccinated individuals."

The highly transmissible Omicron variant was first detected in the U.S. on December 2 and has since spread to 47 states.

A wave of the variant has already hit New York and New Jersey, where it accounted for approximately 13 percent of cases last week.

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