Trump Signs $8.4 Billion Bipartisan Coronavirus Bill

As the coronavirus spreads alongside the panic around it, President Trump signed a $8.4 billion measure on Friday to combat the novel disease.

Numbers Keep Going Up

As the number of coronavirus infections and deaths keeps growing with more than 200 infected nationwide, and at least 12 deaths so far, Congress has passed a bill almost unanimously with a 415-2 vote to the White House, more than tripling the previous $2.5 billion to battle the coronavirus that the White House had outlined a little over a week ago.

Although bipartisan cooperation is getting rarer and rarer these days, especially in an election year, the massive burst of cooperation disregards party differences and focuses solely on the safety of the American population, to reassure all US citizens that measures are being taken to fight the virus and to potentially lower the panic in certain areas.

Trump had initially planned to sign the bill while he visits the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, although that plan was later scrapped over concerns of a “person who was potentially infected” at the CDC, although Trump has said that the person’s tests came out negative and he still hopes to visit the agency.

Although the president downplayed the lethality of the virus, pointing at the WHO’s updated estimate death rate of 3.4% by calling it a “false number,” in an interview with Sean Hannity on Wednesday, the outbreak has proved to be serious enough to warrant releasing funding to improve the US’ fight against the virus.

The bill will provide money to federal public health agencies for vaccines, tests and treatment, with another $300 million to deliver drugs to those in need. More than $2 billion is going to federal, state and local governments to speed up preparations and make sure everything’s in order to respond fast to any threats. Another $1.3 billion will go to fighting the coronavirus overseas and around $7 billion will be subsidized in small business loans.