With 219 to 212 votes, the majority of MPs in the US House of Representatives approved President Joe Biden’s corona aid package. The $ 1.9 trillion (EUR 1.56 trillion) program includes funding for vaccinations and medical equipment as well as grants for households, businesses and governments at the local and state levels. Numerous citizens will each receive $ 1,400 as a direct payment, and the unemployed will receive an additional $ 400 a week until the end of August. Anyone who is currently unable to service rent or home loans should be able to apply for additional funds.
A subway, but no higher minimum wage
The opposition Republicans criticized the fact that only nine percent of the total went directly into the fight against the pandemic – there are unnecessary elements such as a new subway near the constituency of the Democrat Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco: “Here money becomes without account kicked out, “said Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy.
The Republicans are linking a subway project with Democrat Nancy Pelosi, whose constituency is nearby
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The move by the Biden government to raise the nationwide minimum wage to $ 15 (€ 12.35) together with the aid package was controversial within the ruling Democrats. Ultimately, Senate procedural officer Elizabeth MacDonough decided to decouple this issue from the stimulus package. In addition, 60 votes in the Senate are now required for this project.
Next stop: Senate
After the vote, which was successful from the government’s point of view, the aid package will now be presented to the Senate. In the “House” the dissenting votes of two Democrats had no effect, but in the Senate Biden is dependent on faction discipline: There both parties hold 50 seats each, while Vice President Kamala Harris has the decisive vote in stalemate situations.
President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff bow to the victims of the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking at the ceremony on the south side of the White House, Biden said that in a year of the pandemic, “more Americans died than World War I, World War II, and Vietnam War combined.”
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500,000 Corona-Tote in the USA
Trump – der Corona-Sensenmann
The United States records almost a fifth of all corona deaths worldwide – although only four percent of the world’s population live here. Critics see one reason for this in dealing with the pandemic. Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, had long denied the danger. He advocated certain drugs with no scientific evidence and made it clear that he found wearing masks a nuisance.
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500,000 Corona-Tote in the USA
Ghost towns on the east coast
The first infection in the US was confirmed on January 21, 2020. According to current knowledge, the first deaths in connection with an illness occurred in February 2020. New Jersey was the epicenter of the pandemic at the beginning. The metropolises on the east coast, like New York here, turned into ghost towns. The health system was temporarily on the verge of collapse.
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500,000 Corona-Tote in the USA
No place for the dead
The capacity of the morgues also quickly reached its limits. In New York, the hospitals sometimes made do with mobile refrigerated trucks and tents. The pictures that went around the world in April 2020 were otherwise only known from Hollywood productions such as “Outbreak”.
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500,000 Corona-Tote in the USA
Too late, too inefficient
Although it became clear early on that the virus was spreading rapidly in the United States, the states reacted only hesitantly. California was the first state to issue a “stay-at-home order” at the beginning of March 2020 to prevent conditions like those in New York.
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500,000 Corona-Tote in the USA
America divided, even in death
The course of the pandemic also showed the social divide: Those who are black or poor have a far higher risk of dying from the disease in the United States. Statistically, this is expressed in a lower life expectancy: Life expectancy decreased by 2.7 years to 72 years for African Americans, and by 1.9 years to 79.9 years for Hispanics.
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500,000 Corona-Tote in the USA
Access denied
The classification as a high-risk area meant that more and more states refused entry to US Americans. To date, the options for US citizens to leave the country are considerably restricted.
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500,000 Corona-Tote in the USA
200,000 totes as early as October 2020
The death toll is still rising rapidly. The last sad record is not long ago. In early October 2020, the death toll from COVID-19 exceeded the 200,000 mark. An installation of empty chairs near the White House should symbolize this for policy makers.
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500,000 Corona-Tote in the USA
Dark prospects, despite vaccinations
6 percent of the US population are now vaccinated. By the end of July, the US will receive around 600 million doses of vaccine from Moderna and BioNTech / Pfizer, which would be enough for all adults in the country. Still: Johns Hopkins University predicts that the next 100,000 death toll could be exceeded as early as May.
Author: Mirjam Gehrke
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In absolute numbers, the USA was hit harder by the coronavirus pandemic than any other country: According to figures from Johns Hopkins University, around 28.5 million infections and now more than 510,000 deaths have been reported nationwide. A gigantic vaccination campaign is to put an end to this: The Biden government expects 600 million vaccine doses by the end of July, so that by then all citizens can be vaccinated. So far have been loud CDC’s “Vaccine Tracker” a good 70 million vaccine doses administered.
President Biden was vaccinated against Corona in December
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