Coronavirus: Mnuchin warns senators of 20% unemployment without aid

Washington: US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned Republican senators on Tuesday that failure to act on a proposed coronavirus rescue package could lead to US unemployment as high as 20 per cent and lasting economic damage, a person familiar with the closed-door meeting said.

Mnuchin met with senators to persuade them to pass a $1 trillion (Dh3.67 trillion) stimulus package that would send cash to Americans within two weeks and backstop airlines and other companies.