April 24, 2020 / CNBC
Members of the coronavirus task force are expected to hold a press briefing on Friday, hours after President Donald Trump signed a $484 billion coronavirus relief package into law that contains funding for small business along with aid for hospitals and Covid-19 testing.
The measure puts $370 billion into aid for small businesses trying to keep employees on the payroll as they temporarily shutter to try to slow Covid-19′s spread. It grants $75 billion to hospitals struggling to cover costs during the crisis, and $25 billion for efforts to ramp up testing for the disease.
The additional funds come as state and local governments reeling from lost tax revenues are warning of a wave of layoffs after getting left out of the package. Claims for unemployment benefits are surging, with Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia among the states with the most concentrated spikes in jobless claims since mid-March, when employers began mass layoffs and furloughs.