Momentum is building at the White House for another round of stimulus checks, with President Donald Trump saying this week ”I think we’re going to be helping people out” and “getting some money for them.” A number of issues need to be negotiated in Congress about what form the next relief package takes, but the Republican-held Senate has started to open the door to a more narrow aid proposal.
Coronavirus cases in Brazil continue to climb rapidly and on Saturday the country had the second-highest number of reported cases in the world until Russia surpassed it with its latest numbers. South America is now an epicenter for the pandemic, the World Health Organization said Friday, and Brazil is the hardest hit with more than 330,000 cases and at least 21,000 deaths.
This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks.
- Global cases: More than 5.23 million
- Global deaths: At least 338,612
- U.S. cases: More than 1.60 million
- U.S. deaths: At least 96,007
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Protests break out in Spain over lockdowns, government’s handling of the pandemic
Demonstrators take part in a “caravan for Spain and its freedom” protest by far-right party Vox in Barcelona on May 23, 2020. The left-wing government’s management of the crisis has drawn a barrage of criticism from right-wing parties who have denounced its “brutal confinement”. (Photo by Pau Barrena / AFP) (Photo by PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)
Pau Barrena | AFP | Getty Images
8:44 am ET — A procession of thousands of vehicles drove through Madrid Saturday, honking, waving Spanish flags and protesting against the country’s coronavirus lockdown, Reuters reported.
The far-right Vox party called for the protest, according to Reuters, where demonstrators called for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias to resign over the handling of the pandemic and the damage to the economy.
“It is time to end the #stateofabuse that Pedro Sanchez and Pablo Iglesias are using to gag Spaniards,” Vox said in a statement, according to Reuters.
Spain instituted some of the toughest lockdown measures in Europe, and though the country has eased some restrictions, Madrid and Barcelona have continued restrictions due to bigger outbreaks, according to Reuters.
A speech by Vox leader Santiago Abascal was broadcast on EsRadio so people could listen in their cars, Reuters reported. He said the government was “directly responsible for the worst management of this crisis on the entire planet.” —Chris Eudaily
Read CNBC’s previous coronavirus live coverage here: Russia’s total cases surpass 335,000, Patrick Ewing hospitalized