WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration scrambled on Monday to guarantee Americans it was responding to a broadening coronavirus break out as stock markets plunged and top health officials prompted some people to avoid cruise ships, air travel and big public events.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has actually repeatedly played down the hazard posed by the flu-like infection sweeping the globe, was preparing to meet with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other members of his economic team to weigh possible action, an administration official informed Reuters.
Paid authorized leave is among policy steps being thought about, the official said on condition of privacy. The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee is checking out targeted tax relief to resolve the impact of the outbreak, a representative stated independently.
Florida’s Department of Health stated it was recommending anybody who had traveled globally to “self-isolate” for 14 days upon returning to the United States, as the number of confirmed U.S. cases reached 566, consisting of 22 deaths, according to mention public health authorities and a running nationwide tally kept by the Johns Hopkins University.
Thirty-four U.S. states and the District of Columbia have reported infections of the breathing disease COVID-19 that can cause pneumonia, according to the U.S. Centers for Illness Control and Avoidance (CDC).
U.S. stock markets, which have sold off in the previous two weeks on fears the outbreak would push the worldwide economy into an economic downturn, dropped on Monday, triggering a quick trading halt on the New York Stock Exchange. The benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow were down more than 7%. [nL8N2B24UB]
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the to