WASHINGTON (Reuters] -Top U.S. healthcare officials laid out Wednesday a national plan for managing COVID-19. The blueprint included a promise to prevent new strains from arising and to not shut down schools and businesses.

The White House stated that the plan “lays out the roadmap for us to fight COVID-19 as we move America away from crisis to a point when COVID-19 doesn’t disrupt our daily life and is something we prevent and treat.” This statement came one day after Joe Biden had acknowledged that the country’s battle against coronavirus was entering a new phase.

“America must maintain the tools – vaccines, boosters, treatments, tests, and masks – to protect against COVID-19 and dramatically decrease the risk of the most severe outcomes. “We must have the ability to rapidly respond to new variants and maintain our schools, businesses and offices open”, stated the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan.

The White House urged U.S. legislators to increase funding for COVID testing and treatment, as many of its initiatives are not possible without additional investments.

The plan is not specific in dollar amounts, but sources who were familiar last month with the subject said that the Biden administration sought $30 billion more from Congress.

It stated that the additional funds would be used to replenish the country’s inventory of antiviral drugs, tests and masks, strengthen data collection capabilities, and monitor emerging variants. The funding will also help boost the vaccine manufacturing capability.

Biden acknowledged Tuesday that America needs to shift, with infection rates declining and precautions being eased two years ago after COVID closed down large areas of the nation. However, he warned that Americans should not be complacent about the possibility of new strains of the disease.

Biden stated in the State of the Union address to Congress, “We will never accept living with COVID-19,”

More than 955,000 people have died from COVID in the United States since early 2020 with a total of 79,114,386 reported U.S. cases, according to a Reuters analysis https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-TRENDS/dgkvlgkrkpb of state and county data.