Biden announces free tests, more vaccination sites and doctors to battle surging Omicron - SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader.

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US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday the opening of more federal vaccination and testing sites to tackle a surge in COVID-19 cases sparked by the Omicron variant.

Striking a more dire tone about the risks to the one-in-four American adults who are not fully vaccinated, Biden said those who still have not been vaccinated “have a significantly higher risk of ending up in the hospital or even dying.”

The Omicron variant, first detected last month, is causing infections to double in 1.5 to 3 days, according to the World Health Organisation. It is not yet known whether it causes more serious illness than the Delta variant. In New York, Washington and other US cities there were long lines for COVID-19 tests as people clamored to find out if they were infected before celebrating the holidays.

Top White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday the government also is mulling reducing the recommended 10-day quarantine time for people who get infected, to help asymptomatic people return to work or school.With new infections spiking, local officials are also taking steps to encourage vaccinations, including boosters, and increase testing and mitigation measures.

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Test with what because they said they won't recognize the PCR test results. Amasimba le reporting yenu tjerr

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