US steps up coronavirus response, announces rate cut, shutdowns and curfews

As the fast-spreading coronavirus claimed almost 70 lives in the United States, the country stepped up its response as the Federal Reserve slashed rates to stem the fallout while bars and restaurants were told to close or go take-out only from New York to Chicago and California.

Faced with an economic shutdown, the Fed announced a raft of drastic emergency measures to shore up confidence and keep the financial sector running, including cutting the key interest rate to 0-0.25 per cent.

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President Donald Trump, addressing a now-daily briefing of the White House task force on the crisis, praised the "phenomenal" action by the Fed, and sought a reassuring tone even as he pleaded with Americans to stop stripping store shelves bare.

"Relax. We're doing great. It all will pass," the president said.

But Anthony Fauci, the country's leading expert on infectious diseases, was blunt in telling Americans to prepare for hard times ahead, saying it was vital the country made the right choices.

"The worst is ahead for us," he told the briefing. "We have a very, very critical point now."

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Underscoring the urgency of containing the virus, New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city's famed bars and restaurants would be restricted to take-out or delivery and that nightclubs, movie theatres, theatres and concert must close starting Tuesday.

"This is not a decision I make lightly," De Blasio said in a statement.

"These places are part of the heart and soul of our city. They are part of what it means to be a New Yorker. But our city is facing an unprecedented threat, and we must respond with a wartime mentality."

Schools, museums, sports arenas and entertainment venues have already closed in many US states, but St Patrick's Day celebrations still filled bars and restaurants over the weekend despite pleas to limit socializing, prompting calls for more aggressive action.

In the strongest measure yet taken on American soil, the US territory of Puerto Rico ordered a 9:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew with immediate effect -- along with the closure of malls, movie theatres, concert venues, gyms and bars.

Chaotic scenes erupted at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport overnight, as well as New York's John F. Kennedy Airport and in Dallas, as Americans returning from coronavirus-hit countries overwhelmed authorities attempting to process the surge.

Frustrated passengers complained of hours-long lines, crowded and unsanitary conditions in the system for screening people for symptoms of the virus.

In the United States, 70 people have died and more than 3,600 have been infected, according to a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

(With inputs from AFP)