WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

On a day of economic gloom, scientists offered a ray of hope: the first effective treatment against the coronavirus.

The U.S. government said it is working to make the antiviral medication remdesivir available to patients as quickly as possible after a major study found it shortened the time it takes for COVID-19 patients to recover by four days on average — from 15 days to 11. The news came as the U.S. government reported that American output is shriveling at an alarming rate in the biggest and fastest collapse since the Depression.

♦ The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8% annual rate last quarter as the pandemic shut down much of the country and began triggering a recession that will end the longest expansion on record. Amid the economic fallout, the Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that it will keep its key shortterm interest rate near zero for the foreseeable future.

♦ President Donald Trump says the federal government’s coronavirus social distancing guidelines will be “fading out” when they expire on Thursday, counting on states taking charge.

♦ Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie defended the use of an unproven drug on veterans for the coronavirus, insisting they were never used as “test subjects” but given the treatment only when medically appropriate.

♦ A surge in unemployment has started to take a financial toll on state jobless funds. At least six states already have asked to borrow money to pay unemployment claims because their state funds are expected to run out.

♦ Big meatpacking companies that have struggled to keep plants open during the crisis say they welcome President Trump’s executive order that plants must remain open. But unions, some employees and Democrats raised questions about whether workers could be kept safe.