Millions of Americans unemployed

Job losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic have reached beyond restaurants, retail, and entertainment, which were the first to suffer from mandatory closures. The government’s most recent figures showed 5.2 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week.

When will things get better? President Donald Trump plans to announce new recommendations on Thursday to allow some states to ease up on social distancing measures fairly soon. But state governors will make the final decisions on when to lift restrictions, and harder-hit areas could stay shuttered for a long time. The president said at his daily briefing that data indicates the United States is “past the peak” of the COVID-19 epidemic. Meanwhile, the Small Business Administration announced its Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses had run out of appropriated funds and the agency would no longer accept applications. The low-interest forgivable loan program was designed to help businesses with less than 500 employees make payroll during the pandemic.

Dig deeper: Read Sophia Lee’s report on how the COVID-19 crisis endangers locally owned restaurants.

Editor’s note: WORLD updated this article since its initial posting.