US President Donald Trump has approved federal funding for National Guard troops in the three states hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
Troops will be used in New York, California and Washington to deliver medical aid and set up medical stations after the number of deaths nationwide rose to 573 and infections to 41,708..
There are fears of a shortage of key medical supplies in New York City.
A bill to fund national relief efforts has been blocked in the Senate.
Opposition Democrats want the emergency stimulus bill, which is worth almost $1.4 trillion (£1.2 trillion), to include more money for state and local governments and hospitals, while Mr Trump's Republicans are pushing for quick action to reassure financial markets.
In other developments:
What's the latest in the US?
The US now has the third highest number of cases in the world, below Italy and China.
On Monday, the top US public health official, Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams, cautioned that there “are not enough people out there who are taking this seriously”.
“I want America to understand this week it's going to get bad,” Dr Adams told NBC morning show Today. He noted that young people especially were…
