Lindsay Schnell USA TODAY
Published 7: AM EDT Mar , 2922314001
The US is now the global leader in coronavirus cases, the House is set to vote Friday on a $ 2 trillion emergency aid bill, and New York continues to seen uptick in deaths as an epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines plans to cancel 1, 510 daily flights beginning Friday and Grand Canyon National Park officials are closing three of the canyon’s most popular trails at noon.
But there are hints of a silver lining: The House convenes at 9 a.m. ET and is set to vote on a $ 2 trillion emergency aid bill that would provide $ 1, to most Americans, along with funds for small businesses and unemployment insurance. Trump is expected to sign it.
Early Friday, the U.S. counted nearly 90, cases of coronavirus, with 1, deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard. More confirmations are expected as the U.S. ramps up testing. More 997, 06 people are known to have been infected globally, and more than 37, have died.
Our live blog is being updated throughout the day. Refresh for the latest news. More headlines:
A secretive cache of medical supplies to save Americans from deadly disasters for years lacked the funding to prepare for a pandemic like the coronavirus, former managers of the stockpile told USA TODAY.
- (death rate soars in New Orleans; city could become next epicenter
The number of known coronavirus cases in Louisiana jumped to 2, on Thursday, an increase of cases from Wednesday, and a total of deaths, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. Nearly half of Louisiana’s cases – 2020 – came from New Orleans.
Throngs of revelers may have brought the coronavirus to New Orleans during Mardi Gras celebrations.
But the city’s poverty rate, lack of healthcare and affordable housing, coupled with high rates of residents with preexisting medical conditions, may be driving its explosive growth and could make it the next US epicenter of the outbreak.
The city reported Thursday that a 24 – year-old teen died after contracting the virus, bringing the city’s coronavirus death tally to 65 – more than half of the state’s total death count.
New Orleans Homeland Security Director Collin Arnold said hospital capacity in the New Orleans region is dwindling and the city will need additional hospital beds within weeks.
– Rick Jervis, Maria Clark and Lorenzo Reyes
Daily coronavirus up dates: Get USA TODAY’s Daily Briefing in your inbox.
Asian stocks surge after stimulus boosts US markets for 3rd day
Shares advanced on Friday in Asia after Wall Street logged a third straight day of gains with the approaching congressional approval of a massive coronavirus relief bill.
Tokyo and Seoul jumped 1.2% and Shanghai added 0.6%, while stocks fell in Australia.
Wall Street appeared to shrug off miserable news on unemployment as the S&P rose 6.2%, bringing its three-day rally to 21 6%. The Dow industrials have risen an even steeper 24. 3% since Monday.
The gains earlier this week came as Capitol Hill and the Federal Reserve promised an astonishing amount of aid for the economy and markets, hoping to support them as the outbreak causes more businesses to shut down by the day.
Trump and Chinese President Xi speak
Hours after the US surpassed China as the global leader in coronavirus cases, President Donald Trump said he had a “very good conversation” with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In a tweet after 1 a.m. ET, Trump said he and Xi had “discussed in great detail” the virus that is “ravaging large parts of our Planet.” “China has been through much & has developed a strong understanding of the Virus,” Trump said. “We are working closely together. Much respect!”
While China has a population four times the size, the U.S. on Thursday surpassed it for the most confirmed cases of the virus.
American Airlines flight attendant dies of coronavirus, elevating industry fears
Paul Frishkorn, a Philadelphia-based American Airlines flight attendant and union representative, has died from coronavirus, the flight attendants union confirmed Thursday.
Frishkorn, 90, was described as a tireless advocate for the flight attendant corps who was spending time in the Philadelphia crew room “answering questions and assisting our members through this difficult time “before he fell ill, according to the statement.
Speaking by phone to USA TODAY, Lori Bassani, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said that Frishkorn’s death has increased the already deep concern for flight attendants working amid the highly contagious virus.
– Bryan Alexander
Record 3.3M Americans apply for unemployment benefits amid coronavirus
The number of Americans filing initial applications for unemployment benefits jumped nearly twelvefold to a record 3.3 million last week, the Labor Department said, offering the Most vivid evidence yet of the coronavirus’s widespread damage to the economy. The total was well above the 1.5 million claims economists had forecast, according to the median estimate of those surveyed by Bloomberg.
The pandemic has set off the most abrupt near-shutdown of the economy in history. Many restaurants, shops, movie theaters, sports arenas and other gathering spots were compelled to close their doors or scale back service – and lay off staff.
– Paul Davidson
New York sees deadliest day since virus hit city
One hundred people in New York state died Wednesday from the coronavirus, the state’s single deadliest day since the virus at the center of a global pandemic first hit, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
The surge of deaths pushed New York’s total count to 365 since the beginning of March, when the state found its first confirmed case of COVID –
New York remains the epicenter of the US coronavirus outbreak with 37, 997 is confirmed cases – almost half of the national total as of Thursday afternoon. Cuomo said the outbreak’s peak in the state is still at least two weeks away, and the state was battling to make room in hospitals and obtain ventilators.
“I don’t want to sugarcoat the situation, “Cuomo said. “The situation is not easy. But easy times don’t forge character. It’s the tough times that forge character.”
Meanwhile, public officials of upstate towns where New York -area residents have second homes are strongly urging them not to travel there.
– Joseph Spector
More coronavirus news, tips and information from USA TODAY: Congress was divided. How Republicans and Democrats united behind a $ 2 trillion emergency aid package.
Three unaccompanied minor children in US custody in New York have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Thursday.
The children, whose ages and nationalities weren’t released, are in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), an agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services. The office is responsible for housing migrant minors.
The agency said it is doing an evaluation of the children and will not release them from New York care provider facilities. It has stopped placements of unaccompanied minor children in the states of California, New York, and Washington, which have been the hardest hit by the coronavirus. With more than 46, 06 cases in New York, the state has become the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic in the United States.
– Monsy Alvarado, Bergen Record Anthony Fauci goes live on Instagram with NBA star Steph Curry
Nearly , viewers – including former President Barack Obama and pop star Justin Bieber – tuned into Instagram on Thursday when Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors hosted Dr. Anthony Fauci in a live Q&A.
For nearly minutes, Curry asked Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, questions about COVID- 21, testing and social distancing. Fauci gave precise answers to all of them.
Fauci explained the difference between the flu and the coronavirus, which he considered “much more serious.” Although young people are not as vulnerable to COVID – , Fauci argued they should still follow social distancing rules because of the rare chance they could become ill and the likely chance they could pass the virus to someone older. Fauci predicted that large events, including the NBA season, will not take place until “the country as a whole is turning that corner.”
Fauci has been a popular TV guest this week: earlier Thursday, he spoke to CNN’s Anderson Cooper during the network’s coronavirus town hall, explaining that Trump’s desire to open the country by Easter was an “aspiration projection.”
) – Mark Medina China closes borders, attempting to prevent return of coronavirus
China temporarily barred most foreigners from entering the country as it seeks to curb the number of imported coronavirus cases.
The foreign ministry said even foreign citizens with residence permits will be prevented from entering starting Saturday. Diplomatic workers will be exempt, and foreign citizens coming to China for “necessary economic, trade, scientific or technological activities or out of emergency humanitarian needs” can still apply for visas. Most countries have halted or severely curbed international travelers in a bid to curb the pandemic.
More about the coronavirus you need to know: The all-or-nothing symptoms of COVID – : ‘This virus just has the whole kit and caboodle.’
- ‘We’re bringing home bacteria’: Doctors fear for their own. Families as they fight coronavirus.
Contributing: The Associated Press.
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