(Washington, DC)  —  The D.C. Council held a virtual session today and passed a major COVID-19 relief package.  The measure extends Mayor Muriel Bowser’s authority to declare a health emergency in the  and impose a citywide rent freeze during the coronavirus crisis. Today’s vote comes after Mayor Bowser ordered a hiring freeze and slashed the budget by 600-million dollars, the current estimate of the loss of revenue to D.C. from the coronavirus.  The measure will also provide mortgage relief to an individual or business that experiences reduced income because of the pandemic while providing 25-million in grants to hospitals to prepare for an anticipated surge in patients in late June or early July.