US President Joe Biden will unveil sweeping new Covid-19 vaccination mandates in a bid to increase vaccination numbers and curb the surging Delta variant

The President will announce a new rule that requires all private employers with 100 or more employees to either mandate vaccines for their workforce or carry out daily testing.

The regulation is expected to be issued by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration “in the coming weeks”, with a likely 90-day grace period.

Around 80 million Americans will likely be impacted by the sweeping new measure, and it follows reports that Biden also wants to mandate vaccines for federal employees and contractors – covering several more million workers.

This is all part of a six-point plan by the Biden administration to tackle the pandemic and boost the nation’s economic prospects moving forward.

Speaking anonymously, a White House official says “it’s simple… if you want to work for the federal government, you must be vaccinated. If you want to do business with the government, you must vaccinate your workforce”.

Biden will also call on governors to get all of their states’ teachers and support staff vaccinated and encourage schools to set up testing facilities.