[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Jill Biden, the First Lady of U.S. President Joe Biden, is reported to have stopped by Hawaii to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations after attending the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony.
According to the Associated Press on the 25th (local time), Mrs. Biden visited a COVID-19 vaccination site set up at Waipahu High School in Honolulu, Hawaii. She stopped in Hawaii on her way back to Washington DC after leading the U.S. delegation at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony in Japan.
At the vaccination site, Mrs. Biden said the Delta variant has become "more transmissible than ever," urging unvaccinated people to "help us fully overcome this." She also said, "I urge everyone who hears this to get vaccinated." Mrs. Biden then joined military families for a barbecue at the Pearl Harbor-Hickam Joint Base in Honolulu.
Although about 60% of Hawaii's total population has completed COVID-19 vaccination, the state authorities are encouraging vaccinations as infection rates have recently surged. As of the 23rd, the seven-day average of new cases in Hawaii increased by 192% compared to two weeks earlier on the 10th.
Not only in Hawaii but across the United States, the rapid spread of the Delta variant is raising alarms. As of the 23rd, the seven-day average of new infections was about 49,300, more than a 300% increase compared to a month ago.
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