The US has more confirmed cases of the coronavirus than any country in the world, surpassing China, where the pandemic began. There are now more than 85,000 cases in America and nearly 1,300 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Almost 3.3 million people filed for unemployment last week as the virus shuttered businesses and halted normal life across large swaths of the country. The record-shattering number claims was nearly five times larger than the previous weekly record set in 1982.

Early Thursday, the Senate passed a sweeping, historic $2 trillion relief package to help workers, businesses and the severely strained health care system survive the pandemic.

Job losses have swept across sectors from food services to retail to transportation, as nearly half of the country has closed to non-essential businesses. “It is staggering. We are only seeing the initial numbers; they will get worse, unfortunately,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters, estimating that half a million people in the city would lose work.

Source: Agenceis