President Joe Biden will formally end the government’s Covid-19 twin emergencies on May 11, the administration said in a notice to Congress on Monday.
The notice said the national emergency and public health emergency declared by the Trump administration in 2020 are set to expire on March 1 and April 11, respectively. They will both be extended to May 11 and then ended.
“This wind-down would align with the Administration’s previous commitments to give at least 60 days’ notice prior to termination” of the public health emergency, the notice said.
The notice said the continuation of both emergency declarations until May 11 doesn’t impose any restriction on individual conduct regarding Covid.
Lawmakers have already ended some details of the emergencies that kept millions of Americans insured during the pandemic, but House Republicans want to immediately end the Covid emergencies, which the administration is opposing. The notice said abruptly ending the emergencies would “create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system.”
Most of the federal money made available for Covid relief has been drawn-down. The move announced Monday would shift vaccine and treatment away from the federal government’s direct management.
Write to Liz Moyer at liz.moyer@barrons.com
Credit: marketwatch.com