Biden said he has asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China.

The recommendation holds true for both indoors and outdoors, the CDC said.

Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr Fauci said that India made the "incorrect assumption" that they were finished with COVID-19.

Dr Fauci said that India needs to immediately build makeshift field hospitals like what China did a year ago.

Describing the surge of COVID-19 infections and deaths in India as 'nothing short of heartbreaking', Vice President Kamala Harris said on Friday that India's welfare is critically important to the US.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that a multilateral response is critical to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic in India and globally as it hailed recent announcements by several countries to provide immediate support to India. India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 300,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

"It is quite obvious to everyone that the situation in India is extremely serious," Dr Fauci, who is considered one of the world's top infectious disease specialists, told PTI in an interview.

India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

Biden said that 100 days since he took the oath of office on January 20 and inherited the worst pandemic in a century and the worst economic crisis in a decade, America is on the move again, turning peril into possibility, crisis into opportunity and setback into strength.

The president said he had discussed with Prime Minister Modi on when the US would be able to send actual vaccines to India.

The New York Times on Tuesday said Covaxin works by teaching the immune system to make antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The antibodies attach to viral proteins, such as the so-called spike proteins that stud its surface.

'We are in close touch with Indian officials at all levels. We are also closely coordinating with our allies, friends, and Quad partners about how we can collectively support India in its hour of need,' a senior Biden administration official told reporters

"The president pledged America's steadfast ongoing support for the people of India, who have been impacted by the recent surge in the COVID-19 cases," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.

In a show of solidarity, the CEOs of some 40 top American companies have come together to create a global task force to mobilise resources to help India fight the battle against Covid-19.

Twitter and other social media platforms have taken down around 100 posts and URLs after the government asked them to remove content that was critical of the handling of the current medical crisis or spreading fake news around the pandemic.

The Biden administration has come under criticism from several quarters, including from members and supporters of the Democratic party, for not releasing surplus COVID-19 vaccines to India when the country is experiencing its worst-ever public health crisis.

The move comes soon after US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris directed towards mobilisation of American resources to assist India to tackle the unprecedented health crisis in the wake of the deadly second wave of coronavirus.

The Joe Biden administration has come under intense pressure from various quarters, including the powerful US Chambers of Commerce, lawmakers and eminent Indian-Americans, to ship AstraZeneca and other Covid-19 vaccines along with several life-saving medical supplies to India, which is witnessing a deadly surge in coronavirus cases.

From 2014 to 2017, Gupta served as the assistant attorney general for civil rights under President Barack Obama, where she advanced criminal justice reform, prosecuted hate crimes, protected voting rights and fought against discrimination.

A US Congress-constituted quasi-judicial body on Wednesday asked the Joe Biden Administration to designate four nations, including India, as "countries of particular concern", alleging that religious freedom conditions there in 2020 continued their negative trajectory.