US toll crosses 1000 as Washington votes to open $ 2.2 trillion tap

WASHINGTON: The death toll in the US from the coronavirus pandemic crossed 1000 on Thursday amid a job loss report of staggering proportions – five times the previous record – that is expected to get worse the longer the shutdown continues.

A titanic battle is underway between forces fighting for the health of the economy and those fighting for health of the people, with the Trump administration trying to strike a balance between the two. A massive $ 2.2 trillion rescue bill – amounting to around ten per cent of US GDP or 75 per cent of India’s – that the US House will approve on Friday is expected to mitigate the situation to some extent by putting money in the pocket of 90 per cent of Americans, but it will be a long haul to fully recover from the fallout of the coronavirus train-wreck even if the US and the world flattens the pandemic curve.

Personal, social, medical, economic, and political protocols are being rewritten every hour and every day thanks to the fever surrounding the pande