As it happened: Trump says he will temporarily suspend green cards

Opposition to Trump's green card ban has been swift from two pro-immigration groups, as one might expect.

Ali Noorani, of the National Immigration Forum, wrote on Twitter that "immigrants account for 17% of healthcare workers and 24% of direct care workers " in the US.

"It is unfortunate the president would rather scapegoat the other than building a consensus that helps all of through this crisis," he wrote.

The American Immigration Council tweeted that "Trump's actions are designed to distract and divide us from the fact that America now has the highest death and infection from the coronavirus".

The American Civil Liberties Union's immigration expert, Andrea Flores, wrote: "Xenophobia is not a public health response."

The pandemic has disrupted TV production across the world, as lockdowns and social-distancing rules prevent shows from filming.

But this week, actors from Australian soap opera Neighbours will return to the studio, as filming of the show resumes.

In keeping with the spirit of soaps, however, there is a twist. Actors will be required to observe social-distancing rules on set.

That means no physical contact like kissing will be allowed. Instead, camera trickery will be used to make actors look closer than they are.

The filming of Neighbours was suspended last month after Australia brought in restrictions to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Now, the Australian government is considering lifting those restrictions as the rate of new infections has slowed.

To date, a total of 6,645 cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Australia, including 71 deaths.

Read more: Australian soap to resume filming after Covid-19 shutdown

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A second wave of coronavirus cases could be even worse than the first as winter flu puts further strain on hospitals, a senior US disease expert has said.

Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued the warning on Tuesday as several US states prepared to reopen their economies.

“There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,” Redfield told the Washington Post.

“We’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time,” he added.

Redfield described the recent anti-lockdown protests that saw hundreds of people across the US flouting social-distancing rules as “not helpful”.

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Trump notes the coronavirus emerged in the middle of his trade war with China, arguing no one has been tougher on China than him.

"And all of a sudden out of nowhere comes the invisible enemy," he says, referring to the pandemic.

He also told reporters: "We think we know where it [coronavirus] came from. We'll be talking about that, probably a lot."

Some US media have reported that US intelligence believes the virus leaked from a Wuhan virology facility with lax safety protocols, which China has denied. Trump told journalists he won't discuss intelligence briefings.

And that's the end of the White House briefing.

Trump says he has doubts about Florida's ban on golfing, which has affected several of the clubs that the president owns.

"That one I'm not sure I agree with," says Trump.

He adds that "it's a tough policy but it's a state policy."

Some Trump properties have been forced to furlough workers, reporters note.

Trump is asked if his shutdown on immigration is an extension of his 2016 campaign promise to curtail all immigration to the US - both legal and illegal.

"No, no, I want people that are in this country, I want our citizens to get jobs," Trump responds, adding: "I don’t want them to have competition."

“I want the American worker to be able to get jobs," he says. "I don’t want them to compete right now, there’s a big difference when you have a full economy.”

Trump says his 60-day ban on new permanent US immigrants may be extended depending on how the US economy is doing.

He says it could be extended for 30 days, "or much longer" than that.

He also suggests that he could sign a secondary immigration order "if we want", without specifying what it could contain.

After being asked about seasonal farm workers, many of whom are migrants, Trump says that "farmers will not be affected".

Trump says that his executive order stopping new permanent residency to the US is being written now and is expected to completed by White House lawyers tomorrow for him to sign.

It will contain "certain exemptions" he says, without specifying what they will be.

"It's something we have to have in this country," he says.

He pledges for it to be a "strong order".

Trump says the US "must first take care of the American worker" while explaining reasons for the temporary green card ban.

"As we all know, millions of Americans sacrificed their jobs in order to battle the virus and save the lives of our fellow citizens," he says.

The president says the government has a "solemn duty" to ensure Americans regain their jobs.

"It would be wrong and unjust for Americans laid off by the virus to be replaced with new immigrant labour flown in from abroad," he says.

"We want to protect our US workers and I think as we move forward we will become more and more protective of them," he adds.

Coronavirus taskforce coordinator Dr Deborah Birx says some major metropolitan areas appear to have passed their peaks for infections.

But she cautions that some cities have yet to see "the light at the end of the tunnel due to hospitalisations and deaths".

She says that urban areas in New York, Rhode Island Connecticut, Detroit are doing "quite well".

She also says New Orleans is nearly back to its baseline for new infections, while there are also improvements in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, Atlanta, Nashville, Baltimore, Indianapolis and St Louis, but in the Washington DC metro area "we do not see a decline yet".

However, "we will continue to see mortality and deaths among our American citizens particularly in our cities as they begin to move past peak because deaths will lag," she says.

Birx also says that the US mortality rate is the lowest of anywhere in the world.

Trump says: "We continue to gain ground in the war against the invisible enemy.

"And I see light at the end of the tunnel. I actually see a lot of light at the end of the tunnel.

"And we're starting the process. We're starting a very, very powerful important process.

"We see that people are very anxious. They want to get going, they want to get back to their jobs. They want to make money. They want to care of their families.

"So the light is getting brighter and brighter every day."

In a typical year, nearly 1 million green cards are issued in the US, granting immigrants legal permanent residence and the opportunity to apply for American citizenship.

The majority of green cards - roughly 70% - go to those with relatives living in the US, according to a 2018 report from the US Senate.

For employment-based green cards, a common form of the residency status, roughly 80% are issued to those already in the country, shifting from a temporary visa to permanent residence.

The US also grants temporary employment through approximately 20 different visa programmes. These visas cover a wide range of jobs and skills, like those with “highly specialised knowledge” - including tech and engineering jobs - and temporary and seasonal agricultural workers. In 2016, there were 750,000 of such visas issued across all categories.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says some large companies may be forced to return the small business loans that they received from the federal bailout.

"The intent was not for companies that have liquidities and plenty of resources," he says.

Companies that do not return the funds will face "consequences" that could be "quite significant," he says.

President Trump says Harvard University, which has an endowment of around $40bn, will return the $9m in loans it got from a government programme intended to provide money to struggling small businesses.

He made the remark after a reporter asked about Shake Shack, a restaurant chain that said it would return the funds it got from the Small Business Administration.

Other major companies have been criticised for taking the money, which quickly ran dry after it was tapped last week.

Trump praises the $480bn bailout package that was passed earlier today by the Senate, saying it will help struggling workers.

The bill goes to the House next, where Trump predicts it will find "tremendous support".

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the bill includes $310bn for the small business loan programme, which ran out of funds last week.

He adds that it also includes an "unprecedented amount of money for testing". The bill will also boost a separate small business emergency grant and loan programme by $60bn, give $75bn to hospitals and $25bn to a new coronavirus testing scheme.

Trump starts the briefing sending condolences to virus victims and their families.

He notes that around 20 states, representing around 40% of US population, are now making plans to “safely re-start their economies”.

"The country wants to get back to work," Trump says. To date, there are over 816,000 Covid-19 cases and 44,000 deaths from the virus in the US.

The White House coronavirus taskforce briefing has just begun.

Trump is joined in the White House briefing room by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The briefing comes as the US is faced with over 816,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases and more than 44,000 deaths caused by the virus.

The US Senate has unanimously passed a $480bn relief budget that includes new funds for small business loans and protective gear for hospital workers.

The bill now goes to the House of Representatives before going to Trump, who has urged lawmakers to approve it quickly.

The US Congress has now approved stimulus funds of nearly $3tr to help the country's 22m newly-unemployed workers.

On Twitter, Trump said lawmakers will address funding for state governments - who are also reeling from a steep decline in tax revenue - in their next round of budget talks.