OAN Sophia Flores
UPDATED 4:19 PM PT – Monday, January 30, 2023
President Joe Biden has informed Congress that he is set to end the national and public COVID-19 health emergencies on May 11, 2023.
This decision comes nearly three years after the twinning national emergencies were initially set in place. 45th President Donald J. Trump first declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency on March 13, 2020. The declarations have since been extended multiple times by the Biden administration.
“To be clear, continuation of these emergency declarations until May 11 does not impose any restriction at all on individual conduct with regard to COVID-19. They do not impose mask mandates or vaccine mandates. They do not restrict school or business operations. They do not require the use of any medicines or tests in response to cases of COVID-19,” a Biden administration official said.
The move will formally restructure the federal government’s COVID-19 response. In May, the virus will be treated as an endemic threat.