WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Friday he is declaring the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency.
He is speaking to the American people from the Rose Garden as Washington struggles with providing Americans with relief and officials race to slow the spread of outbreak.
Trump says the emergency will open up nearly $50 billion for state and local governments to respond to the outbreak.
He also says he will waive interest on student loans being held by the federal government “until further notice” as part of an emergency action to help Americans deal with the new coronavirus.
Trump says he has also instructed his secretary of Energy to purchase large quantities of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which stores fuel for emergency use.
Trump says “we’re going to fill it right up to the top” and the move would save American taxpayers and help the oil industry.
Negotiations continue between the White House and Congress on an aid package, but there was no announcement of a breakthrough, as House Democrats prepare to vote on their own measure Friday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Trump administration are laboring to finish agreement on a coronavirus aid package.
Pelosi says the House will approve its coronavirus aid package and is imploring the Trump administration and congressional Republicans to “put families first” by backing the effort.
Pelosi spoke at the Capitol ahead of Trump’s new conference. Trump has not yet publicly backed the package as he prepares his own response.
The coronavirus pandemic is inching ever closer to Trump, his top aides and his family as questions swirled about why the president wasn’t going into self-quarantine or being tested for COVID-19.
The White House is grappling with a string of potential and confirmed exposures. A top Brazilian official tested positive after spending time with Trump and others at the president’s private club in Florida last weekend.
Also testing positive: An Australian Cabinet minister who met a week ago with top administration officials including U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Trump’s daughter and senior adviser Ivanka.
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro said Friday he tested negative for the virus, refuting earlier reports from the country’s media and his family.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, the president’s son, told Fox News earlier Friday that he had a preliminary positive test. In a later appearance, he said the Brazilian president was negative for COVID-19.
Bolsonaro met with Trump and other U.S. officials over the weekend at Mar-a-Lago. It was announced Thursday that Bolsonaro’s communications director had tested positive.
Trump said Thursday he had no plans to get tested or self-quarantine, despite being in proximity with someone who was infected.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced Friday that he tested positive for the new virus, the Miami Herald reported. He was present during Bolsonaro’s visit over the weekend.
At least 38 people in the U.S. have died from the virus. There are at least 1,267 cases in the country, and the number may rise as a lack of testing kits has slowed diagnoses.
On Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci with the National Institutes of Health told Congress the country is “failing” to get tests where they are needed.
Responding to numerous complaints about the shortage of tests in the U.S, the Trump administration on Friday named a testing “czar” at the Department of Health and Human Services.
The testing czar is Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health, and head of the government’s uniformed Public Health Service. He will be responsible for coordinating between CDC and FDA, as well as private labs and state and local governments.
Separately, the FDA posted on Twitter that labs having problems getting supplies for collecting patient samples for testing should call the agency’s toll-free information hotline.
Medicare announced it will pay about $36 for the CDC coronavirus test and around $51 for tests from other providers.
The U.S. has tested far few people per capita than other countries like South Korea and Italy.
The intensifying spread of COVID-19 beyond Asia has dashed hopes about a quick containment, even with travel and social events curbed drastically.
The coronavirus reached directly into the world’s centers of power, with politicians either testing positive for the virus or quarantining themselves.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is in isolation at a hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus. He returned to Australia on Sunday from Washington, D.C., where he met U.S. Attorney-General William Barr and President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, last week.
Dutton also attended a conference with other representatives of the Five Eyes intelligence network, which includes the U.S., Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Dutton said Friday he was in isolation in a hospital after confirmation he has the virus.
Australian authorities have stepped up their response to the outbreak by recommending people avoid nonessential gatherings of 500 or more and to reconsider all international travel.
Australia has more than 120 confirmed cases.
The coronavirus pandemic has lent a surreal quality to the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the globe.
It has disrupted daily routines, overwhelmed hospitals, shuttered schools and offices and halted many sporting and entertainment events.
If that weren’t enough, many are also forced to grapple with fears about the financial toll, from lost jobs and businesses to shrinking retirement accounts.
Among notable people who have been infected are the Canadian prime minister’s wife and a Brazilian official who met with President Donald Trump recently. Meanwhile, actor Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson are recovering from the disease in Australia, saying they are fine but remaining isolated to protect others.
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