Weekly jobless claims hit a record 3.3 million as coronavirus batters the economy
The number of Americans filing for unemployment surged to 3.28 million last week, shattering a nearly 30-year record in jobless claims as the coronavirus pandemic forced businesses nationwide to shutter their doors. The number is well above the levels seen in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, the Labor Department said in its weekly report. The previous record was 695,000 set in 1982.
Still, despite the record jobless claims, U.S. equity markets pushed upward on the heels of the Senate passing the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus compromise package just before midnight Wednesday. The House is expected to vote on the bill Friday. Click here to see if you qualify for a stimulus check in Senate’s coronavirus response bill.
One noteworthy detail about the final version of the coronavirus stimulus package: It left out billions of dollars that had been planned for the Department of Energy to go toward replenishing the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Meanwhile, more than 200 U.S. Army soldiers are deploying in New York Thursday to provide a “full range of health care services." New York now has the most coronavirus cases in the country, with 33,033 confirmed coronavirus cases statewide and 366 deaths, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has warned that 4 million residents in the Big Apple could become ill.
As hospitals across the country face shortages of personal protective equipment, health care professionals are reportedly privately discussing the possibility of a blanket do-not-resuscitate policy for infected patients to mitigate the risks facing those responding to a code blue. This comes as frontline health care providers around the country are sounding alarm bells about the rationing of protective gear and lack of rapid response COVID-19 testing.
And France has turned a high-speed train into an intensive care unit to evacuate those infected with the coronavirus from overwhelmed hospitals – a move the French government is calling a "first in Europe."
Tell others how they can get the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to their inbox. Sign up here.
Any questions? Check out Fox News Digital's coronavirus live blog: Heal Chief Medical Officer Dr. Renee Dua answers your questions.
And there were several other developments:
Still, despite the record jobless claims, U.S. equity markets pushed upward on the heels of the Senate passing the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus compromise package just before midnight Wednesday. The House is expected to vote on the bill Friday. Click here to see if you qualify for a stimulus check in Senate’s coronavirus response bill.
One noteworthy detail about the final version of the coronavirus stimulus package: It left out billions of dollars that had been planned for the Department of Energy to go toward replenishing the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Meanwhile, more than 200 U.S. Army soldiers are deploying in New York Thursday to provide a “full range of health care services." New York now has the most coronavirus cases in the country, with 33,033 confirmed coronavirus cases statewide and 366 deaths, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has warned that 4 million residents in the Big Apple could become ill.
As hospitals across the country face shortages of personal protective equipment, health care professionals are reportedly privately discussing the possibility of a blanket do-not-resuscitate policy for infected patients to mitigate the risks facing those responding to a code blue. This comes as frontline health care providers around the country are sounding alarm bells about the rationing of protective gear and lack of rapid response COVID-19 testing.
And France has turned a high-speed train into an intensive care unit to evacuate those infected with the coronavirus from overwhelmed hospitals – a move the French government is calling a "first in Europe."
Tell others how they can get the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to their inbox. Sign up here.
Any questions? Check out Fox News Digital's coronavirus live blog: Heal Chief Medical Officer Dr. Renee Dua answers your questions.
And there were several other developments:
