White House unveils new U.S. COVID strategy as cases in Florida decline

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House revealed a new strategy for battling the COVID-19 pandemic today.

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The president has a new plan to keep a close eye on overseas outbreaks and new variants, which is particularly important for Florida where nearly 1 in 10 visitors to the state come from another country.

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White House Assistant Press Secretary Kevin Munoz says their team has been working with doctors, governors, and industry experts to figure out the best ways to protect against COVID going forward.

The White House’s new four-point plan calls for continued treatments, monitoring the globe for new variants and ending all school and business shutdowns while continuing to encourage vaccinations and treatments in the United States and abroad.

“We’re going to continue vaccinating the world, which is a really big piece of protection against any new variants,” Munoz said.

That part is critical for Florida as international tourism was almost non-existent during the pandemic, and has just now started to rebound.

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Florida can’t monitor every country for an outbreak or set international travel restrictions, but the federal government can.

“We have a strong international travel policy where we ensure all foreign nationals entering this country must be vaccinated, and they must test the day before they arrive,” Munoz said.

For the White House, the goal is to keep the virus trending downward.

The White House is also asking Congress to approve another round of funding to continue to fight and monitor COVID, saying now is the time to stockpile things like testing kits before they’re needed.

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Many of the new policies from the White House are measures that have already been implemented in the state of Florida.

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