Daily US Times: Upcoming president Joe Biden has unveiled a $1.9tn economic relief package for the coronavirus-sapped US economy before he takes office next week.

If passed by Congress, the economic relief package would include $1tn for households, with direct payments of $1,400 to all Americans.

The relief proposal includes $415bn to fight the Covid-19 disease and $440bn for small businesses.

The president-elect has promised to beat the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 385,000 people in the US.

The Democrat campaigned last year vowing to do a better job handling the pandemic than President Donald Trump, a Republican.

Mr Biden’s proposal comes as a winter surge of the Covid-19 breaks records.

Each day brings well over 200,000 new infections and the daily death toll sometimes tops 4,000.

On Thursday, Biden said in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware: “A crisis of deep human suffering is in plain sight and there’s no time to waste.”

He added: “The very health of our nation is at stake. We have to act and we have to act now.”

Mr Biden said: “There will be stumbles, but I will always be honest with you about both the progress we’re making and what setbacks we meet.”

The President-elect wants to pump $20bn into vaccinating Americans, including setting up mass vaccination hubs and dispatching mobile units to remote areas.

Two effective coronavirus vaccines were delivered under the Trump administration, but health officials say the rollout of vaccinations needs to speed up.

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