COVID-19: White House agrees $2trn aid for workers as Germany hunts for 6 million missing masks

An agreement has been reached between the White House and Senate leaders to offer $2 trillion measure to aid workers, businesses and a health care system strained by the spread of coronavirus also known as COVID-19.

The approval on Wednesday follows days of often intense haggling and mounting pressure and still needs to be finalised in detailed legislative language before the funds can be accessed by the aforementioned recipients.

Reports say the package would give direct payments to Americans, expand unemployment benefits and provide a $367bn programme for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers are forced to stay home.

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Meanwhile, German authorities are doing what they can to track down six million face masks ordered to protect health workers, which have gone missing from an airport in Kenya.

According to Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, the shipment was due in Germany on 20 March but never arrived after disappearing at the end of last week even as it is unclear why the masks were in Kenya.

“The authorities are trying to find out what happened,” a German defence ministry spokeswoman told the Reuters news agency.

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