CORONAVIRUS: US commits $8.3bn to fight outbreak as Senegal, Algeria record new cases

The US Congress has voted for a $8.3bn emergency funding package to fight the deadly outbreak of coronavirus also known as COVID-19 which has quickly spread across the globe.

The said sum was committed by the US Congress on Wednesday after the country reported a total of 11 deaths, including one in California, the first outside Washington state with more cases also emerging in New York and Los Angeles with California declaring a state of emergency.

Report say Italy has also been forced to close schools, and cancels public events as countries battle to contain the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Algeria has jumped to 17 after nine new cases were registered on Wednesday night.

According to the country’s health ministry, nine new cases were registered in a family living in the northern Blida district, some 30km (20 miles) from the capital, Algiers.

READ ALSO: China’s coronavirus death toll reaches 2,981; Senegal confirms 2nd case of disease

Also, Senegal’s health ministry said two new infections were confirmed on Wednesday, bringing to four the number of patients in the West African country.

One of the patients has been identified as a 33-year-old British woman who arrived in the capital city, Dakar, on 24 February on a flight from London. It is not clear whether she is a resident of Senegal.

The second confirmed case was a 68-year-old woman, a French resident who had arrived on 29 February. Her spouse had tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.

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