U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about his administration’s plans to respond to the economic crisis during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response event in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, January 22, 2021. Jonathan Ernst, Reuters
* President Biden warned the U.S. faces more than 600,000 COVID deaths
* 'A lot of America is hurting. The virus is surging. We're 400,000 dead, expected to reach well over 600,000,' he said
* CDC projected U.S. will have recorded up to 508,000 deaths by mid-February
* He signed new executive orders to provide food assistance to those in need and extend protections for American workers
* 'We cannot, will not let people go hungry,' he said
* One order speeds up delivery of stimulus checks for the 8 million Americans who have not received theirs ye
* Biden also to look at raising minimum wage to $15 per hour for federal workers
* He will increase value of SNAP, known as food stamps, for about 12 million families to help them buy additional groceries
* 29 million adults – and at least 8 million children – struggle with food insecurity
* Biden has signed a series of executive orders his first days in office dealing with overturning Trump policies and helping those devastated by COVID pandemic
President Joe Biden warned Friday that the United States faces more than 600,000 COVID deaths as he signed executive orders aimed at helping deal with its impact.
They included measures aimed at providing assistance for those facing food insecurity, protecting American workers and providing economic relief to struggling families.
'I'm going to close and summarize this way,' Biden said at an event Friday in the state dining room of the White House.
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Update #1: Biden says nothing can change the trajectory of the Covid pandemic over the next several months (CNBC)
Update #2: Biden warns US Covid-19 death toll could top 600,000, urges Congress to pass response plan (France 24)
WNU Editor: President Biden did not indicate when he thought that total would be reached.
