Pennsylvania nears 1 million virus cases amid vaccine push

2 trapped drivers become first Australian flood fatalities

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it has sent out another 37 million economic impact payments, bringing the total disbursed in the past two weeks to $325 billion.
 The second batch of payments sent out this week followed an initial 90 million payments made in the week after President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion COVID relief measure on March 11.
 Treasury said the plan is to keep rolling out payments in batches over the coming weeks. Like the first round of payments, this latest group included direct deposits, as well as paper checks and debit cards mailed to households.
 The first group of 90 million payments totaled $242 billion. The second batch of 37 million payments totals about $83 billion.
 Of the second amount, 17 million payments were direct deposits into bank accounts totaling $38 billion and nearly 15 million paper checks with a total value of nearly $34 billion. In addition, 5 million prepaid debit cards were mailed out in the second batch with a total value of around $11 billion.
 No action is needed for most taxpayers to receive the payments, which will be automatic and similar to how people received their first and second rounds of economic impact statements beginning in the spring of last year.
 The payments, which are being made to cushion the blow of the coronavirus pandemic, started with $1,200 payments to individuals last spring followed by $600 payments in a December relief bill totaling $900 billion.
 The $1.9 trillion relief measure signed earlier this month includes payments to qualifying individuals of up to $1,400.

Treasury sends out additional 37 million in relief payments