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Welcome to Prognosis. I'm Laura Carlson. It's day 23 since coronavirus was declared a global pandemic.

Today, the government has a plan to help Americans struggling because of COVID-19 by sending them direct checks.

But some economists have always advocated for handing out money to nearly everyone, in good

times and bad.

But first, today's news. The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits surged to a record 6.65 million last week.

That level was unimaginable just a month ago.

As state shut down commerce to prevent the deadly coronavirus from

spreading, the weekly jobless claims have been among the first detailed figures to show the

devastating hit to the U.S. economy. There will be more unprecedented economic indicators to come.

New York's coronavirus outbreak shows no sign of abating, with almost 8,700 new infections

and more than 400 new deaths, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Cuomo said, at the current infection rate, the state is six days away from exhausting its

stockpile of mechanical ventilators.

Across the country, states' demands from masks, gloves, face shields, and even body bags

to help deal with the coronavirus pandemic, far outstrips the federal government's ability

to respond. This was according to documents

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