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VOA - World News

COVID-19 infections in the U.S. are quickly approaching 4 million as hundreds of thousands of more American workers affected by the pandemic sought federal aid while lawmakers consider another rescue package. 

The U.S. continues to lead the world in COVID-19 infections with more than 3.97 million of the world’s 15.2 million confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. The U.S. also remains the world leader in COVID-19 deaths with nearly 143,200, far greater than the 82,771 deaths in second-ranked Brazil. 

Unemployment spike

Amid the surge in coronavirus infections, there was also a sharp spike in the number of  U.S. workers who applied for jobless benefits last week. The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that some 1.4 million workers adversely affected by business closures and other lockdown measures filed for unemployment benefits, ending 15 consecutive weeks of declines in new filings. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, July 20, 2020, in Washington.

The disappointing unemployment figures were released as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell prepares to unveil Thursday a $1 trillion COVID-19 rescue package. The Democratic-led House passed a $3.5 trillion rescue bill over two months ago and is calling for much more funding to assist state and local governments.  

The Republican-led Senate insists on limiting the funding to about $1 trillion and using that funding on new legal protections for schools, businesses and charities that are set on reopening. 

Record-breaking death toll

Meanwhile, the U.S. reached another grim milestone on Wednesday by recording more than 1,000 deaths for the second consecutive day.

California reached its own milestone on Wednesday when it surpassed New York with the most confirmed coronavirus cases. The western state has over 422,000 cases, including more than 12,100 on Wednesday, a one-day record, while New York has more than 413,000.  

Healthcare workers take information and samples from people waiting to be tested for Covid-19, July 21, 2020, in Pleasanton, Calif.

 President Donald Trump announced Wednesday the U.S. government will provide an additional $5 billion in aid, equipment and training to the nation’s nursing homes, many of which are hotspots in the coronavirus pandemic.    

FILE - A health worker disinfects the area next to a coffin with the remains of a recently deceased resident of the San Jose nursing home in Cochabamba, Bolivia, July 16, 2020.

According to federal estimates, nursing home residents accounted for roughly 37,000 COVID-19-related deaths. Nursing homes received nearly $5 billion in pandemic relief funds approved by Congress earlier this year.  

Progress on vaccine

Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. government announced it will pay $1.95 billion to American drugmaker Pfizer and German biotech company BioNTech SE for 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, if it proves to be safe and effective.  

The United Nations Development Program released a report Thursday recommending that nearly 3 billion of the world’s most impoverished people should get a temporary income to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. The report said $199 per month would give 2.7 billion people a basic income and the “means to buy food and pay for health and education expenses.” 

Australia mandates masks

In Australia, a mandatory face mask order officially took effect Thursday in the country’s second-largest city, Melbourne, which has become the epicenter of the country’s rising number of novel coronavirus cases. 

The mandate is the latest order imposed on Melbourne’s five million residents in an attempt to control the spike in COVID-19 infections. Anyone over the age of 12 caught in public without any kind of face mask or covering could be fined up to $143, while employers who discourage their workers from wearing a mask face a potential fine of more than $7,000. 

A member of the public is seen getting a test for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Crossroads Hotel testing centre following a cluster of infections in Sydney, Australia, July 16, 2020. (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi via Reuters)

Premier David Andrews of Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital, said the face mask mandate was imposed due to the increase of confirmed COVID-19 infections, and a refusal by residents who tested positive for the virus to isolate themselves. 

Victoria state posted a single-day record of 484 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.  The city is in the second of a six-week lockdown that bans all residents from leaving home unless going to work, school, medical appointments or shopping for food.