The US Senate has unanimously passed the nation's largest-ever rescue package, a $2 trillion lifeline to suffering Americans, critically depleted hospitals and an economy all ravaged by a rapidly spreading coronavirus crisis.
The measure cleared the Senate 96-0 after days of tumultuous, sometimes bitter negotiations and debate as the US death toll drastically increased.
The number of deaths caused by Covid-19 has now risen to 1,031, with 68,572 confirmed cases nationwide, a tracker run by the Johns Hopkins University showed.
The tracker had showed 827 just a few hours earlier. The United States has the third highest number of confirmed cases behind China and Italy, with the true number of infected people believed to be far higher.