E3: Coronavirus US live: Biden doubts Democratic convention can happen in July
- 6.65 million filed for US unemployment last week
- US facing hunger crisis as demand for food banks soars
- Trump casts doubt on China’s coronavirus figures
- Dr Fauci: security reportedly expanded amid threats
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LA mayor Eric Garcetti is urging all of the city’s 4 million residents to wear masks when they go outside, although that recommendation does not currently apply to the rest of the state.
The AP reports:
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday he’s focused instead on keeping people inside. He also announced the state may need 66,000 additional hospital beds, 16,000 more than previously forecast, to handle the crush of illnesses expected during the second part of May.
At an afternoon news conference, Mayor Eric Garcetti said he had been awaiting advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on mask-wearing but with the COVID-19 rate surging had decided to wait no longer.
As the number of unemployment claims surges, Trump has turned his attention to mocking Democratic senator Chuck Schumer and criticizing New York’s response to coronavirus.
...It wouldn’t matter if you got ten times what was needed, it would never be good enough. Unlike other states, New York unfortunately got off to a late start. You should have pushed harder. Stop complaining & find out where all of these supplies are going. Cuomo working hard!
This is not the time to debate but the states were not slow to respond – the federal government was absent. https://t.co/Q8v7kWJxmM
The latest unemployment numbers paint a devastating picture of a country facing mass job losses as a pandemic kills thousands of Americans.
According to the latest report from the labor department, 6.65 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, doubling the record-setting 3.3 million figure a week earlier.
As reports emerged of long lines at unemployment offices, jammed phone lines and broken websites across the US, the federal labor department said Thursday that a new record number of people sought benefits after losing their jobs in the week ending 27 March.
Some 3.3 million had filed for unemployment the previous week, bringing total claims to 9.95 million for the two weeks. More people have filed for unemployment in the last two weeks than filed in the last six months.
Related: Coronavirus continues to batter US economy with 6.65 million filing for unemployment last week
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The coronavirus pandemic has completely upended the American healthcare system, economy and presidential election, and the tumult is just beginning.
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