There’s a lot going on. Here are today’s COVID-19 updates that you should know.
Your daily dose of hope
The US Senate passed a $2 trillion aid package for American workers and businesses. It received overwhelming bipartisan support with the vote being an unanimous 96-0.
The legislation represents the largest emergency aid package in US history and the most significant legislative action taken to address the rapidly intensifying coronavirus crisis, which is overwhelming hospitals and grinding much of the economy to a halt.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there were early signs that the state’s stringent restrictions on social gatherings could be slowing the virus’s spread.
More research is becoming available as more studies are being done, providing guidance on how best to deal with COVID-19.
World Health Organization officials say they are working with scientists around the world to test and develop 20 different potential vaccines for COVID-19.
Major banks, including Wells Fargo and Citibank have agreed to a 90-day grace period on mortgage payments in California to help those struggling financially in the pandemic.
News you need to know
The number of COVID-19 cases across the US is approaching 70,000, as leaders grapple with how much to restrict Americans’ lives to slow the spread.
An unprecedented number of Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as the coronavirus shuttered businesses nationwide.
The U.S. coronavirus trajectory looks worse than other countries.
A Gartner poll shows that 65% of marketers are bracing for budget and headcount cuts due to COVID-19.
Thirty-three Attorney Generals across the US are calling on Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Facebook, and Craigslist to crack down on price gouging on high-demand products such as hand sanitizer. The officials say the companies’ efforts to remove overpriced items from their platforms have fallen short.
Data point of the day
https://twitter.com/Lexialex/status/1242961829887795202?s=20
Quote of the day:
“The way sadness works is one of the strange riddles of the world. If you are stricken with a great sadness, you may feel as if you have been set aflame, not only because of the enormous pain, but also because your sadness may spread over your life, like smoke from an enormous fire. You might find it difficult to see anything but your own sadness, the way smoke can cover a landscape so that all anyone can see is black. You may find that if someone pours water all over you, you are damp and distracted, but not cured of your sadness, the way a fire department can douse a fire but never recover what has been burnt down.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning
