12th March, 2021
By Abankula with agency report
President Joe Biden has appealed to Americans to stop hate crimes and harassment against Asian Americans, in a speech to mark the first year of the pandemic.
Biden said the conduct is ‘un-American” and must be stopped.
Hate crimes against Asian Americans have surged in the last year.
Former President Donald Trump triggered the attacks after he labelled the COVID-19 disease as the “China virus”.
Biden spoke hours after he signed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill into law.
He told U.S. states to make all adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by May 1.
The White House has said it would have enough vaccine supply to vaccinate the adult population by the end of May.
About 10% of Americans so far have been fully vaccinated.
Biden also urged Americans to stay vigilant or face more restrictions,
He said if Americans pulled together there could be a greater sense of normalcy the U.S. Independence Day holiday on July 4.
He even hoped there could be some backyard barbecue parties with small groups, as well.
America has been the worst hit by the pandemic.
More than 530,000 people have died, and close to 30 million infected.
But the figures have been slowing down in recent weeks.
“We’ve made so much progress”, Biden said.
“This is not the time to let up.
“Just as we are emerging from a dark winter into a hopeful spring and summer is not the time to not stick with the rules,” he warned.
Republicans swiftly criticised him for his cautious approach.
“What America needs now is to fully reopen our economy and our classrooms,” House of Representatives Republican leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted.
Biden had similarly slammed his Republican predecessor over his handling of the virus.
He said the virus was initially met with “denials for days, weeks, then months”.
“This led to more deaths, more infections, more stress, more loneliness.”