Enlarge image
US President Biden at the Detroit Auto Show: In recent years it had been canceled due to the corona pandemic - it took place again in 2022
Photo:
Evan Vucci/AP
US President Joe Biden has declared the corona pandemic over.
"The pandemic is over," Biden said in an interview with CBS.
“We still have a problem with Covid.
We're still working very hard on it.
But the pandemic is over.«
The 60 Minutes interview with Biden aired Sunday evening (local time).
It was recorded on Thursday.
Biden also visited the auto show in Detroit, Michigan.
"As you can see, nobody wears a mask here," Biden said to moderator Scott Pelley.
“Everyone seems to be in pretty good shape.
So I think the situation is changing and I think this is a perfect example of that.”
The US President tested positive for Corona in July and was treated with the Covid drug Paxlovid.
At the end of August, his wife Jill contracted the virus and was also treated with the drug.
In the USA, around 390 people die every day on a seven-day average as a result of Covid 19 disease.
US authorities recently approved two corona vaccines adapted to the omicron variant.
The two preparations are so-called bivalent mRNA vaccines from the companies Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna.
In the TV interview, Biden also spoke about other topics.
He again assured
Taiwan
military support in the event of an attack.
"Yes, if there were actually an unprecedented attack," said Biden when asked: "Would the US armed forces defend the island?"
The US President had already made a similarly clear statement on a trip to Japan in May and said the US had an "obligation" to defend Taiwan in the event of an attack.
The communist leadership in Beijing regards Taiwan as part of the People's Republic and threatens to conquer it.
The United States has committed itself to Taiwan's ability to defend itself - which has so far primarily meant arms deliveries.
In the interview, Biden also left open whether he would run again in the
2024 presidential election
.
“It's far too early to make such a decision.” The 79-year-old said he kept saying he would run for office again.
“But is it a firm decision that I run again?
That remains to be seen.” He has great respect for fate and now we have to wait and see.
Biden described the storage of various top-secret documents in the estate of his predecessor
Donald Trump
in the US state of Florida as "irresponsible".
He wondered what information was contained in the documents that could compromise sources.
aar/dpa
