Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday unveiled a broad package of proposals to help Americans affected by the coronavirus outbreak, while officials suspended public tours through the Capitol building.

The legislation, which Democratic leaders aimed to rush to the House floor for debate and passage on Thursday, would grant workers 14 days of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave, a summary of the bill shows.

Other provisions in the 124-page "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" introduced late on Wednesday include unemployment insurance to furloughed workers and hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding for children's, seniors' and other federal nutrition programs.

An additional 500 million U.S. dollars would be provided to help feed low-income pregnant women or mothers with young children who lose their jobs or are laid off because of the virus outbreak.

Another 400 million U.S. dollars would help local food banks meet increased demand.

The legislation also would guarantee free coronavirus testing for anyone who requires it, including uninsured people.

Democrats introduced the measure as President Donald Trump announced he would suspend travel for Europe to the United States in his latest bid to contain the coronavirus.

If passed by the House and Senate and approved by Trump, the House's bill would result in "billions" of dollars of federal funds being dispensed, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said.

The additional emergency funds would come on top of the 8.3 billion U.S. dollars pledged in a bill enacted last week to help develop a coronavirus vaccine, accelerate the provision of medical supplies and test kits across the United States that are in short supply, and help foreign countries control the spread of the highly contagious virus, which causes the sometimes fatal respiratory illness COVID-19.

House Democrats hope to pass this second coronavirus bill through Congress before it begins a scheduled recess at the end of this week. Additional bills could follow later, lawmakers said.

Yet House Republicans called for delaying the decision, describing the legislation as written in a rush and lacking Republican ideas.

"I think I can say with some confidence, whatever the House does, it's not going anywhere in the Senate," said Representative Tom Cole, the top Republican on the committee, which must clear the bill for the entire chamber to vote on it.

The number of U.S. coronavirus cases has risen steadily and has affected almost three-quarters of U.S. states. More than 1,000 cases and 32 deaths have been reported.

(With input from Reuters)