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Covid resurgence in Japan, South Korea may hit Asia’s financial restoration

Covid resurgence in Japan, South Korea could hit Asia's economic recovery

Snow falls as people wearing face masks walk through the Asakusa district on March 29, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.

Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty Images

SINGAPORE – Towards the end of 2020, many investors are viewing Asia as the region with one of the best economic prospects for the next year as the coronavirus outbreak can be relatively better controlled.

However, a recent surge in Covid cases in some countries threatens to dampen the region’s economic outlook, some analysts have warned.

“For some of the Asian giants, this year’s problems with Covid-19 are unlikely to get better when the clock strikes 12 noon on New Year’s Eve,” said research firm Pantheon Macroeconomics.

However, many parts of Asia – where the virus first appeared – remain lower than in Europe and the US, data from Johns Hopkins University showed.

For some of the Asian giants, this year’s Covid-19 problems are unlikely to get better when the clock strikes 12 noon on New Year’s Eve.

But some countries are now struggling with a far worse resurgence than they did earlier in the pandemic. Even areas that have made great strides in containing the virus may not be spared. Taiwan this week reports its first locally transmitted case since April 12 – underscoring the difficulty in eradicating Covid.

Here’s a look at the Asian economies grappling with a renewed spike in coronavirus infections and how that would affect their economic prospects.

Japan

  • Covid-19 balance sheet: 207,007 cumulative confirmed cases and 2,941 deaths as of Wednesday, according to Hopkins data.

The number of daily reported coronavirus infections in Japan rose again in November and topped 3,000 for the first time last week, Hopkins data showed.

According to Reuters, medical groups in the country warned the pandemic will put a significant strain on the health system. However, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has failed to declare a state of national emergency – although he said he was suspending a travel subsidy program to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the news agency reported.

Economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics wrote in a Wednesday report that the Japanese government’s “relatively soft” rules on social distancing don’t appear to be working and that this could lead to tougher measures in the coming months.

“Therefore, a second and more effective nationwide state of emergency in Japan early next year cannot be ruled out,” the economists said. That would weigh on Japan’s economy in the first quarter of 2021, they added.

South Korea

  • Covid-19 Record: According to Hopkins, there were 53,533 cumulative confirmed cases and 756 deaths on Wednesday.

As in Japan, the daily incidence in South Korea reached unprecedented levels this month – above 1,000 for the first time since the outbreak.

But unlike in Japan, the government in South Korea has taken a tougher stance in response to the new wave of Covid cases.

The government on Tuesday announced a nationwide ban on gathering five or more people and ordered the closure of tourist attractions such as ski slopes and other winter sports facilities, Yonhap news agency reported.

This move, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics, would allow most of South Korea’s economic damage to be contained, for the most part, in the fourth quarter of this year.

Malaysia

  • Covid-19 balance sheet: 98,737 cumulative confirmed cases and 444 deaths on Wednesday, according to Hopkins data.

The Southeast Asian country kept Covid cases to a minimum before the recent surge from October, Hopkins data showed. This prompted the government to impose a new round of partial closure measures in some parts of the country.

Economists with consulting firm Capital Economics said the outlook for the Malaysian economy had become “less optimistic” this quarter, particularly in the area of ​​consumer spending.

“A second wave of the virus and the reintroduction of many restrictions on movement have reversed the sharp recovery in home consumption in the third quarter. Google’s high-frequency mobility data suggests social distancing continues to weigh on activity,” a report said Tuesday.

But the other parts of the economy – like exports – should continue to perform strongly, so the macroeconomic success of the recent resurgence is likely to be “much less” than the previous wave, the economists said.

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World News

French President Macron, Freed from Covid Signs, Leaves Isolation

French President Macron, Free of Covid Symptoms, Leaves Isolation

PARIS – A week after testing positive for the coronavirus for the first time, French President Emmanuel Macron stopped isolating because he was no longer showing symptoms, shared a statement from the Élysée Palace, its official office, on Thursday With.

During his quarantine, Mr Macron – who had typical symptoms of Covid-19 such as fatigue, cough and pain – was “able to remain mobilized in the most important current affairs of our country and hold meetings and councils as planned” statement read.

Mr Macron contracted the virus at a time when a surge in infections across France was shedding hopes that people could safely celebrate the end of the year celebrations.

French health protocols recommend an isolation period of seven days after symptoms appear or a positive virus test. However, a negative test is not required to leave the isolation after this time has elapsed.

The French president was not the first world leader to contract the virus. But unlike several other prominent leaders who have had it – including President Trump, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the UK – Mr Macron has consistently emphasized the threat posed by the virus.

Although it is still unclear how Mr Macron got infected, last week’s announcement that he had the disease prompted a cascade of leaders who had met with him over the past few days to isolate himself, including the Spanish one Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Prime Minister António Costa of Portugal; and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.

French Health Minister Olivier Véran said Mr Macron may have been infected at the December 10-11 European Council meetings. Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic, who attended the same gatherings, also tested positive for the virus.

Mr Macron, who celebrated his 43rd birthday in isolation on December 21, used his quarantine period to reiterate warnings about the risk of contamination.

In Thursday’s statement announcing his improvement, he urged members of the French public to limit their contacts and remain vigilant during the Christmas holidays by “ventilating rooms, wearing a mask and washing their hands regularly”.

Over the past week, daily updates on Mr Macron’s health have been released by Mr Macron himself, by his personal doctor or through official statements from the Élysée Palace – a departure from France’s tradition of secrecy regarding the health of its presidents.

In a self-recorded video of his presidential retreat near Versailles last week, a tired-looking Mr. Macron said he was suffering from a cough, headache and fatigue. His office reported the first signs of improvement on Wednesday after describing his health as “stable” for the past few days.

Mr. Macron held several virtual meetings with his ministers and continued exchanges with foreign leaders such as Russian President Vladimir V. Putin on Tuesday.

In an interview with French magazine L’Express on December 17, the day it tested positive and published on Tuesday, Mr Macron said he wanted to rely on “patriotic and European” French people to undermine an “undermined” one “Land” to reconcile “” divisions “that persist three and a half years after his tenure as President.

With more than 60,000 deaths caused by the coronavirus and around 2.5 million reported coronavirus infections, France has taken a heavy toll on the pandemic. While the number of new infections had dropped below 10,000 per day by the end of November, they have dropped to an average of 14,000 new cases per day over the past seven days, shedding hope that the second wave is over.

On Thursday, the French health authority approved the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, which officially opened the way for vaccination after receiving support from the European Union earlier this week.

The vaccination campaign in France begins on Sunday in several retirement homes and care facilities. The French authorities have ordered around 200 million doses and established a three-phase vaccination strategy, starting with the elderly and at-risk nursing home workers.

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Business

Tony Robbins Accused of Discriminating In opposition to Worker Who Obtained Covid

Tony Robbins Accused of Discriminating Against Employee Who Got Covid

Tony Robbins, the life coach and motivational speaker, discriminated against one of his co-workers by refusing to give her the housing she needed to work from home after contracting a debilitating case of Covid-19 in the spring. This resulted in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday.

The lawsuit also alleges that Mr Robbins falsely claimed to have helped the worker recover by asking one of his friends to intervene in her care after she was put on a ventilator in a medically induced coma.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, accuses Mr. Robbins; his firm Robbins Research International; and his wife, Bonnie P. Robbins, known as Sage, for violating several disability laws, including the Americans With Disabilities Act, which requires reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities.

The employee Despina Kosta worked for Mr. Robbins for 18 years – the first nine in Europe and the last nine in the USA, where she worked in New York as a sales manager or “personal results specialist”. She was one of the company’s top-rated salespeople, according to the lawsuit.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the lawsuit said, Mr. Robbins downplayed the severity of the coronavirus and urged his team to continue selling in-person events. Ms Kosta claims she has raised concerns about the approach but has been ignored.

In April, Ms. Kosta, 52, developed a high fever and had Covid-19. She was placed in a medically induced coma from April 12 to May 1 while being treated first at New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital and then New York Presbyterian Hospital / Weill Cornell Medical Center.

After that, Ms. Kosta made efforts to recover and found it difficult to walk or even hold a cell phone, she said.

Ms. Kosta tried to return to work on July 1 and asked her supervisor and a human resources officer if she could work “just a few hours” a day while she recovered and regained her strength, she said in an interview Wednesday evening . “They said no to that,” she said.

Ms. Kosta said that since July she has no longer had access to her work email or the company’s database, which stores information about the clients she serves. She said she couldn’t work without this access. Ms. Kosta said she made about $ 250,000 annually.

J. Christopher Albanese, a lawyer representing Ms. Kosta, said the company did not quit her, but the lockout made her unable to do her job.

Updated

Apr. 24, 2020 at 12:43 am ET

Jennifer Connelly, a spokeswoman for Mr. Robbins, said the allegations in the lawsuit were “ridiculous and unfounded”.

She said that Ms. Kosta “remains a current employee” and that the company has “provided all necessary accommodation” and “continues to pay the full cost of her health insurance even though the legal obligation to do so ended in June”.

Ms. Kosta also said that comments from Mr. Robbins on a podcast caused her distress.

On the podcast recorded in May, Mr. Robbins described a worker who had a cough, a 102-degree fever and “became very anxious.”

“And so she went to the hospital and then she felt short of breath from fear and hyperventilated a little, so she was immediately put on a ventilator,” he said.

Mr Robbins said after finding out the clerk had fallen into a coma he called a doctor friend who knew people in the hospital. He said he asked his friend to call the hospital and the friend finally got through to the night doctor who eased the pressure on the ventilator.

“As a result, she opened her eyes four or five days later,” Robbins said, claiming that the episode showed that ventilators, at least with too much pressure, appeared to “do harm”.

In July, Ms Kosta said she was contacted directly by a customer in Poland who said he listened to Mr Robbins’ podcast and understood that Mr Robbins had described Ms. Kosta.

Ms. Kosta listened to the podcast and said Wednesday evening that Mr. Robbins’ claims of interfering with her treatment were completely false. She said she was ashamed because he described her as a “hysterical woman, weakling”.

The comments were not the first time Mr. Robbins’ remarks about a woman had been scrutinized. In April 2018, Mr. Robbins apologized for women using the #MeToo movement to “gain meaning and safety by attacking and destroying other people”.

Ms. Connelly, the spokesperson for Mr. Robbins, said the organization had raised concerns about Ms. Kosta’s condition. “When we were informed that Ms. Kosta had contracted Covid-19 and was hospitalized, Mr. Robbins and his organization made inquiries with compassion and support for her,” she said.

She added: “Any suggestion by Ms. Kosta that RRI is unprofessional or does not comply with applicable law in her situation or in the normal course of business is obviously wrong.”

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Health

Trump’s risk to veto $900 billion Covid reduction invoice places main local weather laws in danger

Trump's threat to veto $900 billion Covid relief bill puts major climate legislation at risk

Patrick Pleul / Image Alliance via Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s opposition to a $ 900 billion coronavirus bailout package, largely passed by U.S. lawmakers late Monday, jeopardizes the first major climate change piece of legislation to have received Congress approval in about a decade.

Trump has threatened a veto of the stimulus package, which includes $ 600 direct checks for individuals and $ 35 billion to fund clean energy projects, and plans to reduce the use of chemicals to warm the planet.

The climate regulations included in the deal come after the Trump administration slashed more than 80 key environmental regulations in four years and just before President-elect Joe Biden took office.

Biden plans to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement and use executive orders to expose many of Trump’s environmental setbacks. He’s also pushing for a $ 2 trillion plan, which needs Congressional approval, to move the country from fossil fuels to clean energy and green jobs. Trump officially withdrew the country from the Paris Agreement in November.

Although Biden’s legislation is likely to face immense hurdles if the GOP controls the Senate, which will be decided with two crucial runoff elections in Georgia in January, policy experts and environmental groups say the bipartite-backed climate action in the stimulus package signals that Biden can achieve this could make significant strides in combating global warming. It is also a sign that the US will join a wider global effort to reduce fossil fuel emissions to warm the planet.

“The spending bill just passed by Congress, with support from both Democrats and Republicans, points the way ahead,” said Michael Mann, climatologist and professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University. “It’s a positive sign that 2020 could be the year we turned around the corner on climate action in the US.”

The stimulus plan will cut the production and consumption of fluorocarbons (HFCs), which warm the planet, by 85% in the US over a 15 year period.

The ozone-depleting chemicals are often found in air conditioners and refrigerators. While they make up a smaller percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, fluorocarbons pack 1000 times the heat storage capacity of carbon dioxide.

More from CNBC Environment:
Rethinking Stimulus: How Covid’s Economic Recovery Can Combat Climate Change
Biden will rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. Here’s what happens next

HFCs are used by nations around the world in a targeted manner to curb global warming. In October 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda, a landmark agreement was reached by delegates from 197 nations around the world to phase out HFCs.

So far 72 countries have ratified the Kigali Agreement. Despite the support of US manufacturers and chemical companies, the Trump administration did not accept the pact and instead proposed to reset the Obama-era standards to reduce the use of HFCs.

The stimulus package also includes bipartisan renewable energy legislation, which will provide approximately $ 35 billion in government funding for clean energy projects.

“This bill is the most important step we have taken to improve the climate of this Congress, and its passage is strong evidence that both parties support cooperation in creating climate solutions and investing in advanced energy technologies, while at the same time the our country’s most vulnerable citizens are cared for, “Senator Chris Coons, D-Del. said in a statement earlier this week.

The legislation includes tax credits for solar and wind power that would fuel Biden’s plan to have a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035. The broader bill also includes investments for more sustainable transport and re-approves a program that provides funding for low-income homeowners to upgrade equipment, heat pumps and other household items to clean energy products.

The stimulus package also includes measures to capture and store carbon from production and power plants, reduce diesel emissions from some vehicles, and finance oil exploration projects.

“Congress has made an unprecedented downside to tackling climate change in this legislation by agreeing to phase out effective HFCs, invest in renewables and extend much-needed tax incentives for wind and solar,” said Grant Carlisle, senior Policy Advisor at Natural Resource Defense Council.

“But that’s just a start,” said Carlisle. “In order to cope with the climate crisis, the federal government must accelerate its efforts to convert our economy to clean energy and away from dirty fossil fuels.”

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Health

Trump well being officers focus on Covid vaccines after U.S. administers first 1 million pictures

Trump health officials discuss Covid vaccines after U.S. administers first 1 million shots

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Health Department and Pentagon officials hold a joint briefing Wednesday on the Trump administration’s Operation Trump Warp Speed ​​Covid-19 vaccination program as Americans receive some of the first few shots.

Just over 1 million people in the United States received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is a far cry from the federal government’s goal of vaccinating 20 million Americans by the end of the year.

The director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins said earlier Wednesday that if the US government fails to meet its vaccination target by the end of this month, he hopes Americans “understand that this is a logistical challenge of enormous proportions”.

“In all honesty, I think it’s pretty amazing that it’s been going as fast as it ever was. It’s only been 10 days since the FDA first approved the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine, and then a week later for Moderna,” Collins told CNN.

Read CNBC’s live updates for the latest news on the Covid-19 outbreak.

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Health

Covid vaccine distribution has been slower than U.S. officers thought it will be

Covid vaccine distribution has been slower than U.S. officials thought it would be

UPS package handlers Jesirae Elzey and Demeatres Ralston unload boxes of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine when it arrives at UPS Worldport in Louisville, Kentucky on December 20, 2020.

Michael Clevenger | Pool | Reuters

Coronavirus vaccine distribution has been slower than US officials hoped, as the number of vaccinations is well below the US government’s target of 20 million by the end of the year, federal health officials said Wednesday.

Just over 1 million people in the United States received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s about 19 million doses, falling short of previous December forecasts, and officials have a little over a week – about 8 days – to try to fill that void.

“Just like how fast the start of vaccinations and gun shots is slower than we expected,” said Dr. Moncef Slaoui, tsar of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus vaccine, told reporters during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “And as I told you, we are here to help states accelerate appropriately,” he said, adding that the target of 20 million vaccinations “is unlikely to be met.”

US officials said they are still resolving some issues in the distribution system after some can deliveries went to the wrong destinations and others on the wrong day.

Army General Gustave Perna, who oversees the logistics for Operation Warp Speed, said the US government has “done a good job so far” distributing millions of Covid vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna to states, territories and major cities across the country . But he added that US officials are still “learning” with the sales process getting “better” and “stronger” day by day.

“We had a handful of packages that we were trying to deliver that weren’t destined for the right location, but we captured them before they were dropped off and we redirected them to the right location,” Perna said at the press conference. “And we had a couple … shows that didn’t go out on the right day.”

This isn’t the first hiccup since the distribution began. Perna said last week that several thousand doses of Pfizer’s vaccine traveling to California and Alabama had to be quarantined and returned to the company after the vials somehow got too cold. It’s unclear why the temperature dropped, but Pfizer said in a statement that it was able to intercept the shipments and “seamlessly trigger subsequent delivery to these customers.”

Global health experts had said distributing the vaccines to around 331 million Americans within a few months could prove to be much more complicated and chaotic than originally thought. In addition to making adequate doses, states and territories also need enough needles, syringes, and bottles to complete vaccinations. People also need training in the storage and administration of the vaccines. For example, Pfizer’s vaccine requires a storage temperature of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit.

Despite the missteps, CDC Director Robert Redfield on Wednesday praised the US milestone of 1 million vaccinations and called it an “achievement” as vaccination protection will help frontline health workers continue to treat sick patients.

“As we celebrate this historic milestone, we also recognize the challenging path that lies ahead,” he said in a statement. “There is currently a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines in the US, but the supply will increase in the coming weeks and months. The goal is to make it easy for everyone to be vaccinated against COVID-19 once enough is available are available. “

Perna said on Wednesday that it expected vaccine distribution to improve. More than 7,800 deliveries should be completed by the end of Thursday. The US plans to ship 2.67 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 2 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine to states next week, Perna said. The government distributed 2 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 5.9 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine this week. A total of 15.5 million vaccines have been allocated, he said.

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Business

New warnings of a Covid ‘Christmas wave and New 12 months’s wave’

New warnings of a Covid ‘Christmas wave and New Year’s wave'

Dr. Stephen Parodi, director of Kaiser Permanente’s Nationwide Covid Response, warned that new coronavirus cases are imminent unless Americans change their behavior during a Tuesday night interview on The News with Shepard Smith.

“If we don’t make the choice now to change the future, I worry that we will see Christmas Day and a New Year wave in January, and hospitals will be beyond the breaking point of what we really see,” said Parodi.

According to the Covid Tracking Project, the US broke coronavirus records again this week. Wednesday marked the second deadliest day of coronavirus in the United States since the pandemic began, and on Thursday the country hit record hospital stays of 117,000 people in hospitals due to Covid. The virus is spiraling out of control in California. Nearly 19,000 people are being hospitalized because of the pandemic, and patients are being taken to the hallways of intensive care units. That’s one in six people hospitalized across the country.

Parodi told host Shepard Smith he was concerned about his employees who continue to work overtime and are exhausted. Parodi said his staff were frustrated that the current surge in cases could have been prevented, but instead they are now grappling with it after Thanksgiving.

Air traffic in the United States exceeded 1 million passengers a day on the weekend before Christmas, despite warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

Parodi said he hoped the general public would prove the evidence of another surge in false cases and stay home this year.

“This year we have to make the sacrifice,” urged Parodi. “What I tell my patients is that this Christmas has to be different so that next year all the people we like to meet will be here next year.”

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Biden, Calling Covid Reduction Invoice a ‘Down Fee,’ Urges Extra Reduction

Biden, Calling Covid Relief Bill a ‘Down Payment,’ Urges More Relief

“Joe Biden called this a first step, a down payment – we knew we would visit again and we would have a better chance with a Democratic president who does science,” Ms. Pelosi said in an interview, adding added that “we will have the presidential leadership.”

However, discussions about another bailout package will be a first test of Biden’s approach to working with Congress and his optimism about the prospect of bipartisan legislation in a highly polarized era. Barely a month before his inauguration, he still doesn’t know what the balance of power in Congress will look like when he takes office, and the House Democrats will face a significantly smaller majority in 2021.

Even if the Democrats win both runoffs for the Georgian Senate seats on Jan. 5 and gain control of the Chamber, the Senate’s current rules require some support from Republicans to ensure that legislation clears the Chamber. If Republicans hold on to at least one of these seats, Mr Biden will have to contend with a majority in the Republican Senate.

As he pursues another package, he will also face the prospect of finding an elusive compromise on two of the most difficult policy provisions: a direct stream of funding to state and local governments, for which he has repeatedly expressed his support, and a Republican demand for comprehensive liability protection against Covid-related lawsuits for companies, schools and other institutions. After roughly eight months of debate between the two sides, the congressional leaders finally agreed to remove both provisions from the final $ 900 billion deal.

The Republicans on Capitol Hill have begun to tacitly acknowledge Mr. Biden’s public request for a different package. After spending more than $ 3 trillion this year to help the economy and battle families, businesses, and institutions, several Republicans are resistant to yet another major package at the start of 2021.

“If we look at the critical needs now and things improve next year, when the vaccine hits the market and the economy picks up again, you know the need may be less,” said Senator John Thune of South Dakota Republicans No. 2 in the Senate, told reporters last week before the deal hit.

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has refused to initiate another round of relief despite not ruling out another round of negotiations.

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Politics

Trump calls for greater stimulus checks in Covid reduction invoice

Trump demands bigger stimulus checks in Covid relief bill

United States President Donald Trump attends a medal ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on December 3, 2020.

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

In a stunning tweet Tuesday night, President Donald Trump called the US $ 900 billion Covid Aid Bill passed by Congress an inappropriate “disgrace” and called on lawmakers to make a number of changes to the measure, including larger direct payments to individuals and families.

Trump also suggested that his administration could be the “next administration,” despite losing to President-elect Joe Biden. The relief bill passed by Congress on Monday was partially negotiated by a senior Trump administration official, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Trump himself has not been in the talks since before the elections.

The president’s tweet, which included a video discussing what he thought the law’s many shortcomings are, including overseas funding, came less than 24 hours after the Senate passed the measure. The foreign aid provision is part of a $ 1.4 trillion move to maintain government funding that has been combined with the Covid Relief Act.

Trump did not threaten a veto in the video and was expected to sign the laws along with the bill to keep the government open. The legislation passed both Houses of Congress with a majority with a veto-safe majority.

“I’m asking Congress to change this bill and increase the ridiculously low $ 600 to $ 2,000 or $ 4,000 for a couple,” Trump said in the video.

In another twist, House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, one of Trump’s political arch enemies, agreed to his request for $ 2,000 in payments. “The Democrats are ready to unanimously bring this to the ground this week. Let’s do it!” she tweeted.

Spokespersons for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The package includes, among other things, increased unemployment benefits, more small business loans, a direct payment of $ 600 to individuals, and funds to distribute Covid-19 vaccines.

Legislators wanted to avoid phasing out unemployment programs that would result in 12 million people losing benefits the day after Christmas. They also tried to prevent an eviction moratorium from expiring. Without the moratorium, tens of millions of people could lose their homes by the end of the month.

The amount of direct payments was a major sticking point in the final bill, which came after months of failed talks and false starts while the economy struggled to recover and hundreds of thousands of Americans died from the coronavirus.

GOP Senator Josh Hawley and independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who is negotiating with Democrats, had called for $ 1,200 checks for individuals, which would have matched what the government sent to people in the earlier stages of the pandemic this spring.

Mnuchin told CNBC earlier this week that people could get stimulus checks as early as next week.

Trump also said if Congress fails to deliver the aid package it desires, it will be left to the next administration.

“And maybe I am that administration and we will make it,” he said.

Trump lost to Biden in the November election. However, the president continued to falsely insist that he did indeed win the election and that he was the victim of widespread electoral fraud. Several judges have denied Trump and Trump’s efforts in court to overturn Biden’s victory.

Later on Tuesday, Trump hit the Republican leadership of the Senate, particularly McConnell and the Senate majority whip, John Thune, RS.D. McConnell and Thune have said the Senate would not stand in the way of confirming Biden as the winner of the presidential election.

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Business

Dr. Fauci, Azar obtain Moderna’s Covid vaccine as rollout begins

Dr. Fauci, Azar receive Moderna's Covid vaccine as rollout begins

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The director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, US Secretary of Health Alex Azar and other senior health officials are expected to receive the Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna on Tuesday morning.

The director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, is also said to be shot. According to the NIH, six health care workers at the NIH Clinical Center will also receive the Moderna vaccine, which the Food and Drug Administration approved for emergency use last week.

It is the agency’s first delivery of 100 doses, NIH said, and additional NIH Clinical Center health care workers will receive the vaccine after the public event. The agency expects to get a larger shipment from the state of Maryland next week for more frontline healthcare workers.

The event comes after a series of public vaccination ceremonies were held as the first doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were distributed across the country. Senior US officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, US Surgeon General Jerome Adams, and President-elect Joe Biden, have received their vaccines at television events.

Fauci has long said that he will take the vaccine publicly as soon as it becomes available to encourage Americans to get the vaccine.

Read CNBC’s live updates for the latest news on the Covid-19 outbreak.