President Donald Trump talks to reporters before signing the coronavirus stimulus relief package in the Oval Office at the White House, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Washington, as White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarty, R-Calif. | Evan Vucci, Associated Press

By Jeff Parrott

The Deseret News will provide additional breaking coronavirus coverage throughout the day at this story. Check back often for more updates.

Trump signs $2.2T coronavirus response bill

3:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump signed a massive $2.2 trillion dollar economic relief bill on Friday afternoon in response to the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, The Associated Press reports.

“This will deliver urgently needed relief,” the president said Friday.

This is the third stimulus bill Trump has signed since the deadly coronavirus began infecting thousands and killing hundreds of Americans while ailing a bull market.

The bill includes money for individual stimulus checks for many Americans. It also provides loan, grants and tax relief to small and large business, increased unemployment benefits and billions of dollars to state and local health care systems trying to fight the coronavirus.

In a nearly unprecedented show of bipartisan approval, Congress approved with almost full support. The Senate passed the law with no dissension on Wednesday and the House passed the bill Friday by an almost unanimous voice vote.

Earlier today, Deseret News’ own Matt Brown explored how the massive aid package funds Utah’s plan to weather the health and economic crisis.

Italy: 969 people died in one day

2 p.m.

In the last day, 969 people in Italy died from the coronavirus, officials reported Friday. The staggering toll marks the deadliest single day for any country fighting the virus, according to the The Washington Post. Italian officials corrected an error Friday and said there had been an additional 50 deaths after first reporting 919.

A volunteer delivers a mask to protect against coronavirus in the Tuscan town of Castiglione della Pescaia, Italy, Friday, March 27, 2020. | Jennifer Lorenzini, LaPresse via Associated Press

Officials also reported 5,959 new cases in Italy.

The deaths pushed Italy past 9,100 total COVID-19 deaths. As of Friday afternoon, nearly 86,500 people in the country were confirmed to have the virus, according to Johns Hopkins’ coronavirus tally.

Italy already had the deadliest day of the pandemic on Saturday when officials announced that 793 people had died in 24-hours.

New Yorkers begin sharing ventilators during shortage

11:45 a.m.

Medical professionals at New York-Presbyterian Hospital have begun putting two people on one ventilator — when possible — as the state prepares to treat coronavirus patients amid a massive shortage of the breathing machines, The New York Times reported.

Each of the patients must require similar ventilator settings for sharing to be successful. Because individual settings are based on a patient’s condition, not every sick person will be able to share their machine.

The technique was used in the wake the 2017 Las Vegas shooting and has been done in Italy to treat coronavirus patients. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the procedure has been approved by the state.

“Our single greatest challenge is ventilators,” the governor said on Twitter Wednesday. He said the state still needs 19,000 breathing machines to prepare for an ever-worsening COVID-19 outbreak in New York.

The Food and Drug Administration gave emergency approval this week for an adapter that allows a ventilator to support four patients. The adapter — called a VESper — has only been tested on lung simulators and sheep.

As of Friday morning, more than 365 people have died because of the coronavirus in New York City, according to the Johns Hopkins University and Medicine coronavirus map.

Tourists and hikers stranded in Nepal

Stranded German tourists wait for a bus to take them to the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, March 27, 2020. A rescue flight arranged by the German government on Friday picked up tourists who had been stranded in Nepal since the Himalayan nation went on lockdown earlier this week, officials said. The airport reopened only for the flight, which did not bring any passengers to Nepal. Up to 10,000 tourists are believed to be stranded in Nepal since the government ordered a complete lockdown that halted all flights and road travel to prevent the spread of the virus. | Niranjan Shrestha, Associated Press

9:15 a.m.

Hundreds of tourists became stranded in Nepal when the country decided to lock down on Wednesday to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus, USA Today reported. Some of those temporary expatriates were on high-altitude trekking trips.

More than 130 tourists had been recovered from around Nepal by Friday, but upward of 180 more were still awaiting rescue.

Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said, “all the stranded tourists will be rescued, kept safely for self-isolation and facilitated for their safe journey back home.”

Home to Mount Everest and seven more of the world’s 10 highest peaks, Nepal is a popular destination for hikers and climbers.

“The embassy is exploring flight options that will depart from Kathmandu once the permission is granted,” the U.S. Embassy in Nepal said in a statement. It was undetermined how many American tourists had been rescued or remained stranded.