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Donald Trump said he would “authorise” governors to reopen US states, one day after insisting he had “total” authority as US president to lift coronavirus restrictions, even though the US constitution leaves such rights and responsibilities to state governors.
The US recorded its highest number of coronavirus deaths in a single day, with nearly 2,300 new fatalities pushing the cumulative total above 25,000. Over the past 24 hours, a further 2,299 people died, according to the latest data from the Covid Tracking Project, taking the total to 25,668.
An Amazon worker has died from coronavirus, the company has confirmed. The employee was a manager at the company’s delivery station in Hawthorne, Los Angeles. He died on March 31, the first known case of an Amazon worker succumbing to the virus, though a timeline of his movements suggests he did not contract Covid-19 at the facility.
The IMF has granted a request from El Salvador for $389m in emergency aid to combat the pandemic, its first disbursement under a lending arrangement to the Central American country in more than three decades. The fund said it stood ready to provide “further support as needed”.
The US Treasury department has reached an agreement with US airlines that paves the way for the sector to receive billions of dollars of aid to cover payroll costs during the pandemic, according to a person familiar with the matter.
South Africa cut off state funding for the beleaguered national flag carrier, South African Airways, effectively sealing the airline’s fate after the pandemic grounded its flights.
France summoned Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador in Paris, for a meeting on Tuesday to protest against the embassy’s recent hostile comments and propaganda over the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: Economy - ft.com
