Bornomala Desk: More than 160,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States, a Reuters tally showed on Friday, as President Donald Trump said he would unilaterally grant financial relief to Americans after talks with congressional Democrats stalled.
The grim milestone, which includes 10,000 deaths nationwide in the past nine days, comes as Americans and their political leaders remain divided over such issues as reopening schools, testing, business closures and mask orders, reports Reuters.
“Elected leaders need to begin to address this crisis as a public health rather than a political issue,” said Dr Melanie Thompson, an internist in Atlanta.
“Federal and state governments should subsidise access to serial rapid testing for schools and all senior living facilities. Congress needs to provide a financial safety net for the most vulnerable, including our essential workers,” Thompson said.
Trump said he would issue an executive order suspending payroll taxes for all Americans through the end of this year and extending supplemental unemployment benefits if the White House could not reach a deal on a relief package with top Democrats in Congress.
Trump, speaking at a news conference at his golf property in Bedminster, New Jersey, made the vow after negotiations between the two sides broke down on Friday.
Democrats said they agreed to reduce their $3.4 trillion proposal but Republicans would not agree to more than double their $1 trillion counter-offer.
COVID-19 infections are rising in 20 US states, according to a Reuters analysis, as the centre of the outbreak shifts from sunbelt states such as California, Florida and Texas to the Midwest.
SCHOOL, RESTAURANTS AND MOTORCYCLES
Roughly 100,000 people were expected to descend on Sturgis, South Dakota, this weekend for an annual 10-day motorcycle rally, prompting concerns that the popular event could touch off a fresh wave of the illness.
City officials in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday won a court ruling in favour of a ban on indoor restaurant dining after suing an eatery that defied an emergency order prohibiting the practice
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker partially rolled back plans to reopen the state's economy, reducing the maximum number allowed at outdoor gatherings from 100 to 50.
School reopenings remained a divisive issue nationwide. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Friday that some 700 di
