Two officials in the administration of US President Joe Biden said, on Friday, that the United States of America (USA) will maintain a public health emergency for the Corona (known also as COVID-19) pandemic.
The US administration will allow millions of Americans to get tests and receive vaccines and treatments for free until at least next April.
One official added that the possibility of an increase in coronavirus infections in the winter and the need for more time before transitioning from the public health emergency were the two factors that contributed to the decision not to end the state of emergency in January.
The public health emergency was initially declared in January 2020, at the start of the Corona pandemic, and has been renewed every 3 months since then.
But the US government began signaling in August that it plans to allow it to expire in January.