US to marshal funds, masks in virus fight

The Trump administration on Tuesday said it will seek a $1 trillion stimulus plan from Congress to send checks directly to Americans and help businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic, while the Pentagon announced it would make available up to 5 million masks.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is spearheading the package with Congress, briefed Senate Republicans on a package that would include roughly $250 billion in direct payments to Americans, The Wall Street Journal quoted an unnamed White House official as saying, who also said the administration would push for additional direct payments in the coming weeks if needed.

"It is a big number. We've put a proposal on the table that would inject a trillion dollars into the economy," Mnuchin told reporters at the Capitol.

He told Republican senators that the administration hopes to send the first checks to the public by the end of April.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that the Pentagon will make available to the Department of Health and Human Services up to 5 million N95 masks, which can be used to help protect health workers and vulnerable people against the virus. The first 1 million would be available immediately, he said.

The Pentagon is also making available 2,000 ventilators for hospitals, a number that will likely fall far short of the expected need. "When you look at how many people who may need it, 2,000 doesn't put much of a dent into it," he said.

At a White House briefing earlier Tuesday with President Donald Trump, Mnuchin said: "We want to make sure Americans get money in their pockets quickly, and small-business owners have access to funds."

Trump promised to help thousands of workers. Among the options he said were being considered: $1,000 checks to almost all Americans. The president had initially supported a payroll tax holiday, but said that would take too long to deliver relief to Americans.

"The president has instructed me we have to do this now," Mnuchin said.

The original amount for the stimulus package announced at the briefing was $850 billion, but the number changed to $1 trillion after budget officials reviewed the numbers.

The stimulus package far outstrips the $787 billion stimulus package passed in 2009 in the midst of the financial crisis.

"We are asking everyone to work from home, if possible, to postpone unnecessary travel and limit social gatherings," Trump said during the lengthy midday news conference. "Enjoy your home.''

Across the US, at least 100 people infected with the highly contagious virus have died — a toll that experts expect to rise quickly.

Nearly all — about 85 percent — were older than 60, and about 45 percent were older than 80, The Washington Post reported. More than a third were living in residential care facilities when they became ill, the Post reported.

Schools, offices, bars, restaurants and many stores remain closed. As of Tuesday, 38 states had closed all public schools, according to Education Week, affecting at least 40 million students in 74,000 schools.

More areas in the US had restrictions placed on them as officials sought to stop the spread of the virus, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that residents should prepare for the possibility of a "shelter in place" order to be announced in the next 48 hours, as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the city neared 1,000.

Governor Andrew Cuomo later said restricting people's mobility was not going to happen.

New York City's public transportation system, the largest in North America, was seeking a $4 billion federal bailout as the pandemic set off an extraordinary free fall in ridership.

Elsewhere in the US, a number of beaches in Florida — including Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale — closed their beaches to the annual influx of college students on spring break.