In a Zoom call with the National Governors Association this morning, President Joe Biden acknowledged the high demand for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests amid increased hospitalizations.

“We have to do better,” said Biden.

The holiday gathering season inevitably produced a spike.

There were almost 190,000 new cases nationwide on Sunday, according to a tracker by The New York Times. “When the Delta variant was the dominant strain in the United States, daily cases peaked around 165,000. A wide swath of businesses have been affected by the Omicron wave — including airlines, which had to cancel hundreds of flights over the weekend because of sick staffers.”

Prior to heading back to Delaware, Biden made a brief statement in the South Court Auditorium of the White House, with governors – New Jersey’s Phil Murphy among them – observing virtually.

When the President ended his prepared remarks and turned to the screen, presumably to interact with state leaders and take their questions, the live stream abruptly ended.

Amid a surge of COVID-19 cases, overburdened hospital ERs and pharmacy shelves depleted of self-administering COVID tests, Murphy and his family took a Christmas vacation in Costa Rica.

“I wish everyone great holidays,” the governor said Monday. “Please God, get vaccinated, get boosted, and be smart. I know wearing a mask stinks. I don’t blame you. I don’t like it either. But if you’re inside and you don’t know everybody else’s vaccination status, put one on.”