(Photo: AP)

Washington (People’s Daily) -- The US House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday providing the Trump administration with nearly $8 billion to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The bill, supported by large bipartisan majority, signals clear concern in Congress about the growing spread of the new coronavirus in the United States.

The amount provided by Congress far exceeds the $2.5 billion originally requested by the Trump administration. President Trump himself had said earlier that he will accept the extra funds from Congress.

Hours before the House vote, US media reported that Republicans and Democrats had reached an agreement on the emergent funding proposal.

Under the agreed plan, over $3 billion would be devoted to research and development of coronavirus vaccines, test kits and therapeutics.

Meantime, Congress also included $1.25 billion to address coronavirus risks in other countries.

As reported by Reuters, the US Senate is expected to take up the House-cleared bill quickly and have it sent to Trump for his signature this week.

So far, at least 129 infections have been confirmed in the United States, including 11 deaths.

The outbreak has been particularly severe in the western states of Washington and California.