Trump announces a national emergency, 'two very big words,' over the coronavirus
President Trump has officially declared a national emergency over the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Trump spoke in the Rose Garden on Friday afternoon and said he is declaring a national emergency after Bloomberg reported he would take this step in order to make more federal aid available for states and municipalities as they respond to the virus.
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Vox explains that "the biggest impact of this declaration is that it will give states a boost in funding to address the need to pay more medical staff, bolster facilities, and treat patients." Trump had been facing pressure to take this step, but a report from Politico previously suggested he was reluctant to do so after downplaying the threat of the novel coronavirus.
Trump during his news conference also announced a "new partnership with private sector to vastly increase and accelerate our capacity to test for the coronavirus," saying Google would be developing a website that will "determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location."
"This will pass through, and we're going to be even stronger for it," Trump said of the pandemic. "We've learned a lot. A tremendous amount has been learned."
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