U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about his administration’s efforts to ease supply chain issues during the holiday season, at the White House in Washington, December 1, 2021.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Joe Biden on Thursday asked businesses to voluntarily move forward with the administration’s Covid-19 vaccine and testing requirements, even as the rule is challenged in court, after U.S. officials confirmed the first case of the omicron variant in the U.S.
“We’re asking businesses to step forward and do what’s right to protect our workers and to protect our communities, which is to put in place some sort of vaccination requirement or testing requirements for the workplace,” a senior administration official said.
The administration’s request comes after public health officials in California this week detected the first case in the U.S. of the omicron Covid variant. U.S. and international health officials are concerned that omicron,…