US mulls boosting economy amid outbreak

The United States is mulling measures to bolster its economy against the impact of the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, as the number of infections surges past 1,000 and dozens of universities such as Harvard are canceling in-person classes and turning to instruction online.

President Donald Trump pushed for economic stimulus measures on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, but details were scant on Trump's relief plan. He spoke with congressional leaders in a closed-door lunch meeting.

"We had a good reception on Capitol Hill. We're going to be working with Republican and Democratic leadership to move a legislative package," Vice-President Mike Pence, who is heading the White House's coronavirus task force, said at a White House briefing Tuesday afternoon.

A tally kept by the Johns Hopkins University said that at least 28 people had died and 1,025 people were confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 in the US as of Tuesday — nearly double the total of 550 confirmed cases a day before.

The increase comes as testing has been expanding from federal to state laboratories, and almost three-quarters of US states have reported cases.

As of 10 am on Tuesday, more than 100 countries had reported a total of 113,702 COVID-19 cases and 4,012 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

Pence defended the federal government's response to coronavirus testing, saying that "1 million tests are in the field". He added that more would be added as the government worked in partnership with private companies.

He also said that federal authorities would unveil recommendations in the next 24 hours to help halt the spread of coronavirus in the four hardest-hit states: Washington, California, New York and Florida.

Trump's proposed payroll tax break met with bipartisan resistance. The president's GOP allies have been cool to additional spending at this stage, especially for cutting taxes that would have to be reimposed presumably after the November election, while Democrats prefer their own package of remedies, including unemployment insurance and sick pay for struggling workers.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday night that the Trump administration seems to believe that the answer to any problem is a tax cut.

"This is a HEALTH CARE crisis. It demands a HEALTH CARE solution. The best way to ensure economic security for the American people is to deal with the coronavirus itself," Schumer tweeted.

In efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus, dozens of US universities have announced plans to cancel in-person classes through spring break or beyond and send thousands of students home, including Columbia, Princeton and Indiana universities.

Harvard University told all its undergraduates on Tuesday to leave campus by Sunday and stay home until the end of the semester, while Yale University said it will move learning online following the end of spring break.

Dan King, president of the American Association of University Administrators, expected that "many, many more" colleges will make similar moves.

Fearing the rapid spread of the virus, former vice-president Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders canceled their rallies scheduled for Tuesday night in Ohio. The campaigns of the two Democratic presidential contenders said their future events will be contingent on how the epidemic develops.

In Washington state, which has the most deaths, Governor Jay Inslee said on Tuesday that as many as 64,000 people may be infected with the virus within two months if actions aren't taken now to stop its spread. Although the number of confirmed cases is now 162, Inslee said experts believe the actual number could be 1,000 or more.

In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state would establish a "containment area" in the Westchester County suburb of New Rochelle, just north of New York City, closing major gathering places and facilities such as houses of worship in a roughly 8-square-kilometer area for two weeks starting Thursday.

The governor said National Guard troops would clean schools and deliver food to quarantined residents, adding that individuals would still be free to walk around.

Westchester County, which has 108 virus cases and many more people in quarantine, is "probably the largest cluster in the United States", Cuomo said.

In California, passengers waiting to disembark from the cruise liner Grand Princess in Oakland faced frustrating delays on Tuesday. The ship was carrying at least 21 people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The vessel's operator said that disembarking all passengers will be a "multiple day process". By early Tuesday afternoon, only 676 people had been taken ashore.

Screening passengers will require a step-by-step approach that prioritized the most vulnerable among the ship's more than 3,500 passengers, said Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Chen Yingqun in Beijing and agencies contributed to this story.