Trump signs $8.3bn emergency package to fight COVID-19

Washington, March 7 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has signed into law an $8.3-billion emergency funding package to fight the spread of the deadly coronavirus in the country which has so far infected 329 people and killed 15 others in America.Trump signed the bill on Friday after Senate had overwhelmingly passed the funding package on Thursday, following a similar bipartisan approval by the House of Representatives a day earlier, reports Xinhua news agency.The bill, negotiated by leaders from both Senate and House appropriations panels, will boost funding for the testing of the virus, support the development of vaccines, as well as lower costs for medical treatments.The plan includes nearly $7.8 billion in new funding to combat the spread of the virus at the local, state, national and international levels, and it also authorizes $500 million to allow Medicare beneficiaries to access tele-health programs.The funding plan is significantly larger than the request from the White House, which initially asked for $2.5 billion to fight the disease.
--IANS ksk/