US coronavirus cases top 6,000

The number of coronavirus caaes in the United States topped 6,000 on Wednesday as President Donald Trump told millions of workers facing layoffs and furloughs that "money will soon be coming to you".

"For the people that are now out of work because of the important and necessary containment policies, for instance the shutting down of hotels, bars and restaurants, money will soon be coming to you," Trump tweeted Wednesday.

"I will totally protect your Medicare & Social Security!" Trump also wrote.

Trump also announced on Wednesday that the US and Canada had agreed to close their border to most travel as the two countries seek to blunt the spread of the coronavirus.

"We will be, by mutual consent, temporarily closing our Northern Border with Canada to non-essential traffic. Trade will not be affected. Details to follow!" Trump tweeted.

On Tuesday evening, West Virginia became the 50th state to report an infection. Johns Hopkins University said the number of confirmed virus cases in the US stood at 6,159 as of Wednesday morning with 55 deaths. Globally, the total number of cases was 204,264, 82,107 listed as recovered and 8,244 deaths.

In Washington, Congress rushed to approve spending bills to help the struggling US economy.

Congress has already passed an $8.3 billion package of emergency funding to help treat and control the spread of coronavirus, and Makority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate would pass a second relief measure approved by the House last week before its members returned to their districts for a one-week recess.

"This is a herculean task," McConnell said.

The House, Senate, and White House are now negotiating a third $1 trillion economic stabilization package that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed at a Senate lunch on Tuesday.

Hospitals across the US are running out of the masks, gowns and other equipment to protect staff against the novel coronavirus, say hospital officials, doctors and others in the industry. The Pentsgon announced on Tuesday that it would up to five million respirator masks.

Nurses from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston have pleaded with friends on Facebook for any goggles and other gear they might have lying around.

"I'm reusing my mask from yesterday," Calvin Sun, an emergency-room doctor in New York City told The Wall Street Journal. "We really have no choice."

Hotel operator Marriott International said Tuesday that it would begin furloughing tens of thousands of employees worldwide.

Retail giant Macy's with more than 800 stores nationwide said it had closed its more than 800 stores on Tuesday until at least March 31 and would continue to pay compensation and benefits to roughly 130,000 employees.

On Monday, a flood of inquiries from newly jobless New Yorkers crashed the website for the state's unemployment insurance system.

Lights went out on the famed Las Vegas Strip as Nevada's governor ordered the statewide shutdown of all casinos and other nonessential businesses starting Wednesday.

Kansas became the first state to announce that schools would remain closed for in-person teaching for the rest of the school year.

After three technicians who work in an air traffic control tower at Midway International Airport in Chicago tested positive for the virus on Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily shut it down, causing scores of flights to be canceled, delayed or diverted.

Some US retailers are setting aside shopping time for their most vulnerable customers, including older adults and persons with underlying health conditions.Panic buying across the country has left store shelves empty for those at-risk groups.

Albertsons, which has 2,200-plus stores under banners including Safeway, Acme and Vons, says it is reserving two hours every Tuesday and Thursday morning for vulnerable shoppers, including senior citizens, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems ``who have been advised to avoid leaving home as much as possible".

Starting Wednesday, all Whole Foods Market stores in the US and Canada will let customers who are 60 and older shop one hour before opening to the public. The company, which is owned by Amazon, has approximately 500 stores throughout the UK, Canada and in 42 US states.

Whether you test positive or negative for the novel coronavirus, "we should be acting as if we have the virus", US Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams said.

"If we do those three things — making sure we're cleaning our surfaces, making sure we're washing our hands, and making sure we're staying six feet away from people — that's how we will most protect ourselves from this disease," Adams said on NBC Wednesday morning.

Adams also called on healthy Americans to donate blood. "You can still go out and give blood. We're worried about potential blood shortages in the future. Social distancing does not have to mean social disengagement," he said.

The American Red Cross announced on Tuesday that it is facing a "severe blood shortage" due to an "unprecedented number of blood drive cancellations" in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Such cancellations have resulted in about 86,000 fewer blood donations, according to the Red Cross.