Trump taunts China again as NY Mayor says cases may cross 10K Trump signs aid worth millions
Washington, March 19: US President Donald Trump charged Thursday that the world is “paying a big price” for China's lack of transparency on the outbreak of the new coronavirus there several months ago.
“It would have been much better if we had known about this a number of months earlier,” Trump told reporters at a White House briefing on the pandemic. “It could have been contained to that one area of China where it started. And certainly the world is paying a big price for what they did.”
Meanwhile, Nikki Haley, the Indian-American former US ambassador to the UN, has joined Mr Trump on criticising China for the handling of the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 8,000 people globally and spread to nearly 157 countries.
The deadly coronavirus outbreak, which first emerged in China's Wuhan city last year, has killed 8,809 people and infected 21,8631 across 157 countries and territories, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University.
Meanwhile, Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio has cautioned that the number of Covid-19 cases in the city could increase substantially to about 10,000 very soon and called for “urgent intervention” by the federal government to help slow down the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic.
The United States has at least 8,736 cases of coronavirus and 149 deaths, according to state and local health authorities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New York is by far the worst-hit state, with mre than 2,900 cases and 21 deaths. The city added nearly 1,000 cases of individuals infected by the virus in one day.
Washington, March 19: US President Donald Trump has signed into law a sweeping multi-billion emergency aid package to help Americans mitigate the adverse economic impact of the fast-spreading coronavirus that has killed over 8,800 people, including nearly 150 in America.
The bill, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, includes provisions offering paid sick leave for impacted workers and free COVID-19 testing.
It also boosts unemployment insurance, food assistance and federal funding for Medicaid as part of an ongoing effort by the US government to combat the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Today, into law 'Families Coronavirus
Act' (the “Act”).
The Act makes emergency supplemental called
I have signed H.R. 6201, the First Response appropriations and other changes to law to help the Nation respond to the coronavirus outbreak,” Trump said in a statement.
Passed by the House of Representatives 363-40 and Senate by 90-8 votes, the act is designed to bolster the federal government's response to the accelerating novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and address the impacts the virus is having on Americans' health and financial security.
According to the White House, the act ensures that American families and businesses impacted by the virus receive the strong support they need.
This legislation provides strong economic assistance to American businesses, workers, and families, alleviating financial burdens experienced by those affected by the virus, it said. He also noted that the act provides free coronavirus diagnostic testing for the Americans.