North America

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. banks were girding on Monday for another chaotic dash to grab $310 billion in fresh small business aid due to be released by the government on Monday, after it changed some of the rules of the first-come-first-served scheme at the 11th hour.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) was set to re-open its Paycheck Protection Program at 10:30 am EDT/1430 GMT on Monday, allowing lenders to resume processing applications from businesses hurt by the novel coronavirus shutdown.

WASHINGTON, April 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Donald Trump dismissed reports he was considering sacking health secretary Alex Azar as criticism mounts over the US response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump, who risks losing public support ahead of the November election due to the climbing death toll, lashed out over stories on media outlets.

“Reports that H.H.S. Secretary Alex Azar is going to be ‘fired’ by me are Fake News,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

“They are desperate to create the perception of chaos & havoc in the minds of the public.”

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the country will be able to double its COVID-19 testing capacity over the next several weeks, which is needed to safely reopen portions of the economy, according to The Hill on Sunday.

Fauci made the remarks in a webcast hosted by the National Academy of Sciences on Saturday. He said the United States is currently averaging between 1.5 million and 2 million tests per week.

WASHINGTON, April 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) —More US states are beginning to lift lockdown orders even as US leaders say social distancing guidelines will be necessary throughout the summer.

But governors warn that life will not quickly return to normal, and that restrictions will remain in some places to keep the virus from resurging.

On Friday, the US saw its largest single-day spike in cases.

But the infection rate has dropped significantly in several hotspots, including New York, the US epicentre.

NEW YORK, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. state of New York will restart its economy after the peak of the coronavirus outbreak in a multi-phase manner, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Sunday.

The strategy is to first reopen the construction and manufacturing sectors, and the second phase will be evaluating businesses on a case-by-case basis, depending on how essential they are, said Cuomo at his daily briefing.

There will be two weeks in between each phase to monitor the effects of the reopening and ensure hospitalization and infection rates are not increasing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An American military airstrike in Somalia more than a year ago killed two civilians and injured three others, U.S. Africa Command is acknowledging in a new report expected on Monday.

UNITED NATIONS, April 27 (NNN-Xinhua) — The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is stepping up delivery of health and hygiene items for families and health workers in 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Items locally procured and distributed included hand sanitizers, soap, water supplies and personal protective equipment as well as face masks, gowns, gloves, disposable face shields, goggles and coveralls, the UNICEF said in a press release.

NEW YORK, April 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo pointed to research showing that strains of the novel coronavirus entered his state from Europe, not China, and said that travel bans enacted by US President Donald Trump were too late to halt its spread.

Cuomo cited research from Northeastern University estimating that more than 10,000 New Yorkers may have contracted the disease by the time the state had its first confirmed case on March 1. He said he believed Italy was the likely source.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With limited supplies of coronavirus tests available, the Pentagon is focusing first on testing those performing duties deemed most vital to national security. Atop the list are the men and women who operate the nation’s nuclear forces, some counterterrorism forces, and the crew of a soon-to-deploy aircraft carrier.

Defense leaders hope to increase testing from the current rate of about 7,000 a day to 60,000 by June. This will enable them to test those showing symptoms as well as those who do not.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Maj. Brian Minietta’s eyes are locked down the barrel of a camera lens. He sways gently back and forth in silence, then his gruff voice belts out, in singsong: “A little patience ... yeah, yeah!”

He finishes the chorus — it’s the 1989 Guns N’ Roses hit “Patience.” And he tells the Green Berets he counsels as an Army chaplain: “Yeah. Patience. That’s the word we’re going to talk about today.”