$3000 in emergency loans O.¶d

35O9I'(1&( A3 ² 5hode Island lawmakers on Thursday approved as much as 00 million in emergen cy borrowing to help the state pay its bills with the economy virtually shut down by the &O9I' 1 pandemic.

*ov. *ina 5aimondo told House and Senate leaders the e[traordinary measure is needed because the Internal 5evenue Service has pushed back the federal income ta[ filing deadline to July 15, ob ligating the state to also delay its ta[ collections.

Other state officials said 5hode Island could run out of money by ne[t week. They also stressed the cash infusion will not be used to create new programs and services that haven¶t been approved by lawmakers.

³We¶re facing a liTuidity problem. We don¶t have what we need,´ 5aimondo said in a rare meeting of the 'isaster (mergency )unding %oard, which is composed of the House speaker, Senate presi dent and the finance commit tee chairs in each chamber. ³We have to keep the lights on to help keep 5hode Islanders alive.´

5oughly 60,000 5hode Island residents are seeking jobless benefits amid the virus outbreak, according to state data released Thursday.

1early 5 ,000 people have filed unemployment insurance claims for &O9I' 1 related reasons since 0arch , when the state began tracking and e[pediting the reTuests.

Another 6,000 have filed claims for temporary disabil ity benefits.

5hode Island has more than 160 confirmed cases of &O9I' 1 , up about 0 from Wednesday, health officials said Thursday.

)or most people, the vi rus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. )or some, espe cially older adults and people with e[isting health problems, it can cause more severe ill ness, including pneumonia, or death.