President Biden on Monday implored leaders of state and local governments to continue requiring face coverings in public in an effort to curb coronavirus infections that are back on the rise across the country.

The plea came after the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an emotional warning about rising caseloads in the U.S., describing a feeling of “impending doom.”

“We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope," Rochelle Walensky said during a White House news briefing, her voice breaking at times. “But right now, I’m scared.”