Rising Covid cases spark fears of resurgent pandemic in US | Coronavirus

A rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the US and abroad is fueling fears of a pandemic resurgence and on Monday sent shockwaves through the stock market as the highly contagious Delta variant takes hold – and Joe Biden urged Americans to “please, please get vaccinated”.

The number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths due to Covid-19 have been rising worryingly in recent days, largely driven by outbreaks in parts of the country with low vaccination rates, as officials have been warning of a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”.

US stock indexes plunged as investors worried about the impact of the coronavirus on the economic recovery, and the president begged more people to get the shot even as he gave a speech on the economy that more broadly dismissed predictions of “doom and gloom” that electing him to office would bring about depression and the death of capitalism.

Biden said capitalism was alive and “very well”.