On Friday, 245,601 people had tested positive for the new coronavirus, more than double the number of people in Spain, the country with the second-highest case count. Of the people confirmed to have the virus, 6,068 had died, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University, and 9,311 people have recovered.
Daily coronavirus briefings have become routine for members of the Coronavirus Task Force and Friday’s is scheduled for 5 p.m. EST. Viewers can tune in to the briefing on their televisions through C-SPAN. Those who are looking to watch the briefing from their computers or mobile devices can watch from the White House’s YouTube channel.
It’s unclear who is scheduled to attend, as attendees vary from one day to the next. Vice President Mike Pence is likely to be there, as he’s the head of the task force. Ahead of the briefing, Pence was scheduled to lead a Task Force meeting and join Trump for a roundtable discussion with energy sector CEOs.
Along with discussing mitigation measures, Task Force members may have to field questions about small business loans. Applications for the Paycheck Protection Program opened on Friday, giving small businesses a chance to get up to 2.5 times their total monthly payroll, up to $10 million.
It’s intended to keep people employed during the outbreak, which has taken a toll on the economy and help businesses survive.
“This is an unprecedented effort by this administration to support small businesses and we know there will be challenges in the process,” Jovita Carranza, administrator of the Small Business Administration, said during Thursday’s briefing.
Getting the program off the ground has been rocky, though, leaving businesses and banks confused about the process. While Bank of America was first to get its loan portal up and running, on Thursday, JPMorgan Chase told customers that it would likely wouldn’t be ready to accept applications, according to CNBC. Business owners also have questions about the application and if they’ll have to pay the money back.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Trump made it clear they needed to execute on the program, adding that his team worked until 4 a.m. He acknowledged that small businesses and American workers needed money, but added that it’s likely not everyone would get their check on Friday.
