■ Government relief checks began arriving in Americans’ bank accounts as the economic damage to the U.S. piled up.
Time will tell if funds too little, late to save economy
WASHINGTON — Government relief checks began arriving in Americans’ bank accounts as the economic damage to the U.S. from the coronavirus piled up Wednesday and sluggish sales at reopened stores in Europe and China made it clear that business won’t necessarily bounce right back when the crisis eases.
With many factories shut down, American industrial output shriveled in March, registering its biggest decline since the U.S. demobilized in 1946 at the end of World War II. Retail sales fell by an unprecedented 8.7%, with April expected to be far worse.
The world’s biggest economy began issuing one-time payments this week to tens of millions of people as part of its $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package, with adults receiving up to $1,200 each and $500 per child to help them pay the rent or cover other bills.
The checks will be directly deposited into accounts or mailed to households in the coming weeks.
Among those receiving a check was Jacqueline Gonzalez, a 32-year-old single mother who was laid off from her job as a bartender and lives with her mother, a teacher, in Miami Lakes, Florida. Gonzalez paid her car insurance and gave her mother $500 for rent. She has signed up for food stamps.
“There is no other form of income for us right now. We have no other choice. We can’t work from home,” she said. “We’re just sitting here. Bills are racking up.”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he’s prepared to announce new guidelines allowing some states to quickly ease up on social distancing even as business leaders told him they need more testing and personal protective equipment before people can safely go back to work.
The industry executives cautioned Trump that the return to normalcy will be anything but swift.
The new guidelines, expected to be announced Thursday, are aimed at clearing the way for an easing of restrictions in areas with low transmission of the coronavirus, while keeping them in place in harder-hit places. The ultimate decisions will remain with governors.
“We’ll be opening some states much sooner than others,” Trump said.
But in a round of calls with business leaders Wednesday, Trump was warned that a dramatic increasing in testing and wider availability of protective equipment will be necessary for the safe restoration of their operations.
Trump said at his daily briefing that data indicates the U.S. is “past the peak” of the COVID-19 epidemic, clearing the way for his plans to roll out guidelines to begin to “reopen” the country.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, added that data from across the country showed the nation “i mproving,” but that Americans had to recommit to social distancing to keep up the positive momentum.
She said nine states have fewer than 1,000 cases and just a few dozen new cases per day. She said those would likely be the first to see a lifting in social distancing restrictions at the direction of their governors under the guidelines set to be released Thursday.
Birx said the White House was particularly concerned about Rhode Island, noting it is now seeing a surge in cases from the Boston metro area after seeing a spike several weeks ago from cases from New York.
Trump consulted dozens of high-profile CEOs, union officials and other executives via conference calls Wednesday.
He received a mixed message from the industry leaders. They, too, said they want to get the economy going but had worries about how to safely do so.
In a tweet midway through Trump’s round of conference calls with dozens of high-profile CEOs, union officials and other executives, the president said the participants were “all-in on getting America back to work, and soon.”
But participants in a morning call that included dozens of leading American companies raised concerns about the testing issue, according to one participant who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private discussion.
Another person who participated in Wednesday’s calls said it was stressed to Trump that expansion of testing and contact tracing was crucial, as well as guidelines for best practices on reopening businesses in phases or in one fell swoop.
In other parts of the world, the first steps in lifting restrictions are running into resistance, with customers staying away from reopened businesses and workers afraid of risking their health.
In China, millions are still wary of spending much or even going out. Some cities have resorted to handing out vouchers and trying to reassure consumers by showing officials in state media, eating in restaurants.
“I put off plans to change cars and spend almost nothing on eating out or entertainment,” said Zhang Hu, a truck salesman in Zhengzhou who has gone back to work but has seen his income plummet because few people are buying 20-ton rigs.
In Austria, Marie Froehlich, who owns a clothing store in Vienna, said her staff was happy to be back after weeks cooped up at home. But dependent largely on tourism, which has dried up amid the travel restrictions, her business will take months to return to normal, she said.
“Until then, we are in crisis mode,” she said.
Rome’s streets were also largely deserted despite the reopening of some stores.
With deaths and hospitalizations stabilizing or dropping, Germany announced plans to let smaller shops reopen next week and for school to resume in early May. France reported a decrease in hospitalized COVID-19 patients for the first time since the outbreak began in the country.
The U.S. has recorded more than 28,000 deaths — highest in the world — and over 636,000 confirmed infections, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.