© 2026 ABC News

\"The devastating economic fallout of the pandemic is being felt across the globe. But for poor people in poor countries, who are already struggling to survive, there are almost no safety nets to stop them falling into poverty,\" Jose Maria Vera, Oxfam International's interim executive director, said in a statement.

\"G20 Finance Ministers, the IMF and World Bank must give developing countries an immediate cash injection to help them bail out poor and vulnerable communities,\" Vera added. \"They must cancel all developing country debt payments for 2020 and encourage other creditors to do the same, and issue at least US$1 trillion of Special Drawing Rights.\"

White House setting up additional task force with economic focus

The White House is preparing to announce a second coronavirus task force -- this one focused on reopening the U.S. economy, two senior administration officials and a person familiar with the discussions told ABC News.

This task force will include Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow and other top administration officials, plus additional people from the private sector, sources said.

While the president would not give a date of opening up the economy, the economic task force plans to focus on ways to reopen a majority of the country by April 30, the day to which Trump extended the administration's guidelines on social distancing.

6.6 million more Americans file for unemployment

An additional 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

\"PHOTO:
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
PHOTO: An aerial view from a drone shows vehicles lining up to receive unemployment applications being given out by City of Hialeah employees in front of the John F. Kennedy Library on April 8, 2020 in Hialeah, Fla.
>

Thursday's figure adds to the some 10 million people who have already applied for unemployment insurance amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced non-essential businesses to close.

This means in just three weeks more than 16 million people have filed weekly jobless claims.

Just a few months ago, the unemployment rate in the U.S. was near a 50-year low.

\"The unrelenting weekly deluge of UI [unemployment insurance] claims shows how abruptly the coronavirus outbreak has plunged the labor market into crisis,\" Glassdoor Senior Economist Daniel Zhao said in a commentary Thursday. \"In its first month alone, the coronavirus crisis is poised to exceed any comparison to the Great Recession.\"

Zhao added that \"the new normal\" for unemployment claims \"will be the canary in the coal mine for how long effects of the crisis will linger for the millions of newly unemployed Americans.\"

ABC News' Katherine Faulders and Matthew Vann contributed to this report.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Business/coronavirus-economic-updates-pandemic-plunge-half-billion-poverty/story?id=70062993","legacySlug":"/news/story/coronavirus-economic-updates-pandemic-plunge-half-billion-poverty-70062993","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"20:21","publishDate":"04-09-2020","updatedTime":"20:21","updatedDate":"04-09-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"An aerial view from a drone shows vehicles lining up to receive unemployment applications being given out by City of Hialeah employees in front of the John F. Kennedy Library on April 8, 2020 in Hialeah, Fla.","credit":"Joe Raedle/Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Business/unemployment-line-gty-ml-200409_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"4/9/2020 20:21:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":70062993,"headline":"Coronavirus economic updates","mediaAssetTitle":"BIZ DAILY","description":"Here is the latest on the COVID-19-induced financial crisis.","duration":"0:47","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/03/200310_vod_orig_covid_body_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["132488083","132306053","132266872"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 29, 2026","headline":"Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","section":"News","slug":"/video/132488083","id":"132488083","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 23, 2026","headline":"Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","section":"News","slug":"/video/132306053","id":"132306053","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 22, 2026","headline":"Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","section":"News","slug":"/video/132266872","id":"132266872","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Coronavirus economic updates","description":"Here is the latest on the COVID-19-induced financial crisis.","duration":"0:47","uploadDate":"04-09-2020","publication":"04-09-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/03/200310_vod_orig_covid_body_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/03/200310_vod_orig_covid_body_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/coronavirus-economic-updates-pandemic-plunge-half-billion-poverty-70062993"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Coronavirus economic updates","pubTime":"16:21","pubDate":"04-09-2020","modTime":"16:21","modDate":"04-09-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":70062993,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Coronavirus economic updates","mediaAssetTitle":"BIZ DAILY","videoId":70062993,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/coronavirus-economic-updates-pandemic-plunge-half-billion-poverty-70062993"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/70062993","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/70062993","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};