NEW DELHI: US President Joe Biden imposed stringent new vaccine rules on federal workers, large employers and health care staff in a sweeping attempt to contain the latest surge of Covid-19.

The new requirements could apply to as many as 100 million Americans -- close to two-thirds of the American workforce -- and amount to Biden's strongest push yet to require vaccines for much of the country.

"We've been patient, but our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us," Biden said targeting Americans who still refuse to receive a vaccine despite ample evidence of their safety and full approval of one -- the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine -- from the US Food and Drug Administration.

He said vaccinated America was growing frustrated with the 80 million people who have not received shots and are fueling the spread of the virus. And he acknowledged the new steps would not provide a quick fix.

"While America is in much better shape than it was seven months ago when I took office, I need to tell you a second fact: We're in a tough stretch and it could last for awhile," Biden said in an early evening speech from the White House.

“We can and we will turn the tide of COVID-19,” Biden added further.

Biden laid out a six-part plan intended to get more people vaccinated, allow schools to reopen safely, increase testing, improve care for patients and boost economic recovery.

As part of the plan, the president announced a new requirement for federal employees to get a Covid vaccine, with no option for regular testing. He also signed an executive order extending the requirement to contractors that work with the US government, impacting a total of 2.1 million employees.

At the centre of Biden's new plan is directing the Labour Department to require all businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are either vaccinated or tested once a week. Companies could face thousands of dollars in fines per employee if they don't comply. The order will affect about 80 million workers.

The US, the worst-hit nation by the pandemic, is reporting an average of 151,500 new cases per day, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, hovering around levels seen in late January. An average of 1,500 people are dying from COVID-19 every day in the US, Johns Hopkins data shows