Coronavirus Watch: Farmers to get aid, Texas eases restrictions

American farmers are set to get some help from the federal government, Texas is starting to ease restrictions and Walmart employees will be required to wear face masks.

It's Saturday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network.

Here's the latest news, as of 1:30 p.m. ET:

• There are more than 711,000 confirmed cases in the U.S., and more than 37,000 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins. See a map of confirmed cases here. More than 150,000 people have died worldwide.
• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is easing some of the most severe coronavirus restrictions on retail stores and parks, but declared all schools will remain closed for the rest of the school year. 
• President Trump announced a $19 billion relief package to assist American farmers. It includes a mass government purchase of $3 billion in dairy, produce and meat products, and $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers.
• Trump held a call with faith leaders yesterday that included discussion about a phased-in return to broader in-person worship.
• In New York state, couples will now be able to get married by video.
• In Hawaii, the governor has closed beaches. Meanwhile, mayors of counties are beginning to shut down vacation rentals.
• Lupus patients are struggling to get their hydroxychloroquine prescriptions refilled amid the drug shortage caused by the coronavirus. Trump has touted as the drug as possible treatment for the virus, though scientific evidence showing the drug is effective is lacking.
• Latinos in the U.S. are shouldering a disproportionate burden during this crisis, according to a new report. 
• Starting Monday, Walmart and Sam's Club employees are required to wear masks or other face coverings.
• Two of the Trump Organization’s properties in South Florida — the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach and Trump Doral in Miami — have furloughed all “nonessential” staff, a total of 713 people, due to the coronavirus.
• Americans are reaching out to tax preparers and lining up at their offices around the country to find out what happened to their stimulus checks. Sign up for The Daily Money here.

No plans tonight? Tune in to "One World: Together At Home," a two-hour televised event hosted by Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel featuring appearances by Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift, Elton John, Jennifer Lopez, Andrea Bocelli and more.

Please keep sending us your coronavirus questions through this form! Debbie from Novi, Michigan, asks: My son was 16 when the stimulus relief package was signed weeks ago, and since then he has turned 17. Will he get the $500 since he was 16 when it went into effect?

Individuals with an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less will be eligible for a one-time payment of up to $1,200 ($2,400 for joint tax returns) and $500 for each dependent child 16-years-old or younger. That payment is based off your 2018 or 2019 tax returns (whichever is more recent), so, if your son was 16 at either of those times and you claimed him as a dependent, then you'll get the $500.

Students age 17 or older don't qualify for a stimulus check if their parents or guardians claim them as a dependent. The result is that many high school juniors and seniors won’t get a check and their parents won’t get the $500 additional stimulus credit.

Students who have a job, aren’t claimed as a dependent by their parents or guardians, and meet the income threshold and other eligibility requirements qualify for a check if they filed for taxes in 2018 or 2019, according to Garrett Watson, an economist at the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based think tank.

We answer many more of your stimulus check questions in our story here.

As always, thank you for subscribing and trusting the Paste BN Network with this important information. 

— Grace Hauck, Breaking News Reporter @grace_hauck, and Rachel Aretakis, Breaking News Editor @raretakis