Combating COVID-19: US closes northern border with Canada for all non-essential travel

With all 50 States and District of Columbia having reported positive cases of coronavirus, the United States has temporarily closed its northern border with Canada for all non-essential travel to fight the spread of the virus.

President Trump tweeted on Tuesday (local time): "We will be, by mutual consent, temporarily closing our Northern Border with Canada to non-essential traffic. Trade will not be affected. Details to follow!"

West Virginia became the 50th state to report a case of the deadly novel coronavirus when Governor Jim Justice announced the first positive test result Tuesday.

Justice said the case was in the eastern panhandle of the state, but he gave no other details.

The announcement comes just after the death toll from the virus in the United States passed 100, according to a CNN tally of data from state heath officials. Illinois reported its first death Tuesday, becoming one of 18 states to report the death of a resident who died from the virus in the pandemic.

More than 110 people have died in the United States out of 6,496 positive cases. A toll that many experts believe is going to increase, as reported by the Washington Post.

Americans could get a cheque for $1,000 or more in the coming weeks, as political leaders unite around a dramatic plan to try to prevent a deeper-than-expected recession and protect people from going bankrupt.

"For the people that are now out of work because of the important and necessary containment policies ... the money will soon be coming to you," President Trump wrote on Twitter early Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced that at least 1,500 troops of the National Guard will be deployed to contain the spread of the virus.

President Trump has said that he will hold a press conference on Wednesday to address the evolving situation of the coronavirus and issue statement on the Food and Drug Authority(FDA).

The Trump administration is planning to send direct cash payments to Americans in the coming weeks to help them cope with the economic outfall of the coronavirus.

This package can cost the government a price USD 1 trillion, while the Trump administration is working over the figures. Democrats have shown little resentment to the package, which means that it might be difficult to reach bipartisan support to the package.

At least 1,99,481 cases and close to 8,000 deaths have been confirmed due to the novel coronavirus, the data provided by Johns Hopkins showed.