US: House passes $8.3B bill to combat coronavirus

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed an $8.3 billion emergency funding bill Wednesday to combat the coronavirus outbreak as the death toll in the U.S. reached 11.

The bipartisan bill cleared the House floor with a 415-2 vote which came hours after congressional leaders from both chambers agreed on a deal to fight the novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19.

The Senate is expected to vote on the bill Thursday.

The measure provides $7.76 billion to agencies fighting the disease.

The U.S. death toll from the new coronavirus climbed to 11 Wednesday when officials in California recorded the first death from COVID-19 there.

Officials in California's Placer County described the victim as elderly with underlying health conditions.

Globally, COVID-19 has infected more than 89,000 people and killed more than 3,100 of them.