Coronavirus / Trump declares national emergency on coronavirus to access $50 bn to fight virus

Washington: Donald Trump declared a national emergency on coronavirus at a hastily-organized press conference in the White House Rose Garden - allowing him to access $50 billion in emergency funds and unveiling drive-thru testing in Walmart, Target and CVS parking lots.

But he said testing should not be available to everyone, directing people instead to a Google-run website to tell people what to do. When it is to launch will not be announced until Sunday. 

He also failed to address when adequate numbers of tests will finally arrive - and one of his advisers said the president only 'realized' there was a problem on Tuesday.

And then he threw medical guidelines on testing into chaos saying that he would get one himself - but not because he stood beside a Brazilian Mar-a-Lago guest who tested positive but 'because I think I will do it anyway.' 

In the course of a free-wheeling performance in which he invited CEOs from retailing, pharmaceutical and healthcare firms, Trump:

Said the United Kingdom might be added to his travel ban because numbers there are soaring;

Ordered hospitals to come up with emergency plans to deal with the expected onslaught;

Disclosed that the federal government had ordered more 'respirators'; 

Waived federal student loan interest payments; 

Said he would replenish the nation's strategic oil reserve because prices are low - a move which is effectively a massive giveaway to domestic oil producers;

Boasted that his actions had led to 'just 40 deaths' - but warned the number will go up;

Refused to take any responsibility for the testing fiasco - even as the top medical official on his coronavirus taskforce said the president had only 'realized' there was a problem on Tuesday;

Denied he had any idea that his administration had dismantled a pandemic readiness unit inside the White House which was part of the National Security Council saying it was 'people in his administration' not him;

Repeatedly shook hands with other people around him as he addressed a group of reporters squeezed close to each other, all in defiance of CDC guidelines. 

His comments came before Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday night that a deal has been struck between Congress and the White House on a coronavirus emergency aid package

It includes, free testing, sick pay for workers and cash to bolster unemployment benefits and food programs for children, families and seniors 

Wall Street rebounded while the president spoke, responding positively to the measures he outlined after the Dow suffered its worst day since the 1987 recession earlier this week. 

The press conference was Trump's attempt to make amends for his missteps in his national address Wednesday night, when he misspoke about his own travel ban policy - requiring a correction - and leaving the nation uneasy about the steps his administration was taking to combat the disease.  

Trump started by cracking open the $50 billion in funding, a move which will also make states able to rapidly put people on Medicaid if they seek treatment. 

'The action I am taking will open up access to up to $50 billion of very important and a large amount of money for states and territories, localities in our shared fight against this disease. In furtherance of the order, I'm asking every state to set up emergency operations centers immediately,' he said. 

He opened the press conference by repeating claims which have repeatedly come under fire that the federal response has been a success. 

He spoke on a day when questions mounted about whether he has been infected with the virus himself, with his daughter Ivanka self-isolation - and as markets suffered yet another wild ride. His dinner guest in Mar-a-Lago, Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro was at the center of confusion as his son said he tested positive for coronavirus then he right-leader claimed he had tested negative.

'I'd like to provide an update to the American people on several decisive new actions we're taking that are very vigilant effort to combat and ultimately defeat the corona virus, we've been working very hard on this. We've made tremendous progress,' he said.

'Europe was just designated as the hotspot right now. We closed that border awhile ago. That was lucky, through talent or luck, whatever you want. But through a very collective action and shared sacrifice, national determination, we will overcome the threat of the virus.'

'Like our earlier, very aggressive actions with China this measure will save countless lives.'

'To unleash the full power of the federal government did the separate today I am officially declaring a national emergency - two very big words.'

'The action I am taking will open up access to up to $50 billion of very important and a large amount of money for states and territories, localities in our shared fight against this disease. Furtherance of the order, I'm asking every state to set up emergency operations centers immediately.' 

Trump also urged those who don't need to testing to not take a test for the disease.

'We don't want everybody taking this test. It's totally unnecessary. This will pass. This will pass through.'

Even as he recommended not to get tested, he announced more testing options would be forthcoming.

'We're announcing a new partnership with the private sector to vastly increase and accelerate our capacity to test for the coronavirus. We want to make sure that those who need a test can get a test very safely, quickly and conveniently. But we don't want people to take a test if we feel that they shouldn't be doing it. We don't want every one running out and taking it. Only if you have certainly symptoms,' Trump said, as he stood in the Rose Garden surrounded by members of the coronavirus task force.

'We expect up to a half a million additional tests will be available early next week,' he added.

And he said drive-up testing will be available soon.

'We've been in discussions with pharmacies and retailers to make drive-thru tests available in the critical locations identify by public health professionals. The goal is for individuals to be able to drive up and be swabbed without having to leave your car,' he said.

And he announced Google is helping the administration build a website to help people determine if they should be tested.

'I want to thank Google. Google is helping to develop a website that will be very quickly done - unlike websites of the past - to determine whether a test is warranted and facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location,' Trump said.

President Trump has not been tested – despite being exposed to people who have been in contact with those who tested positive for the disease. And Democrats have heavily criticized the administration for the lack of available testing.

The president said he wasn’t taking responsibility for an early lack of testing and argued the Obama administration had more deaths with swine flu than have happened because of coronavirus.

‘I don't take responsibility at all because we were given a set of circumstances and we were given rules, regulations and specifications from a different time. Wasn't meant for this kind of an event with the kind of numbers that we are talking about. And what we have done is redesigned it very quickly with the help of the people behind me. And we are now in very, very strong shape,’ he said.

‘If you go back to the swine flu they didn't do testing like this. And actually they lost approximately 14,000 people and they didn't do the testing. They started thinking about testing when it was far too late,’ Trump said of the Obama administration.

Trump also said he was open to adding the United Kingdom to his list of countries on the 30-day travel ban given the rising number of coronavirus cases in that country.

‘Well, that was recommended to me by a group of professionals and we are looking at it based on the new numbers that are coming out and we may have to include them in the list of countries,’ he said, adding ‘but, yeah, their numbers have gone unfairly precipitously over the last 24 hours.’

He also said some countries will be added and some taken off the list.

‘We may be adding that we may be adding a couple of others and may frankly start thinking about taking some off,’ he noted. 

The president also asked all hospitals to 'activate its emergency preparedness plan so they can meet the needs of Americans everywhere.'

He outlined three other actions his administration is taking as the U.S. death count hit 41 and nearly 2,000 people have been infected.

The president said 'telehealth' will be implemented.

'The ability to waive laws to enable telehealth, a fairly new and incredible thing that has happened in the not so distance past. I tell you what they've done with telehealth is incredible,' he said. 'Number 2, the ability to waive requirements that critical access hospitals limit beds to 25 and the length of stay to 96 hours.'

He also said nursing homes and hospitals would be able to waive the three-day stay requirement prior to admission.

'No resource will be spared, nothing whatsoever,' Trump vowed.  

Dr. Deborah Birx defended the administration's work on a test to detect the coronavirus.

'Last Tuesday, seeing the spread of the virus around the globe, the president realized our current approach to testing was adequate to meet the needs of the public,' she said.

'He asked for an entire overhaul of the testing approach. He immediately called the private sector laboratories to the White House as noted and charged them with developing a high quality platform that can meet the needs of the American public,' she added.

Birx argued most of the work the administration has done has been behind the scenes.

'I understand that a lot of this behind the scenes action over the last couple weeks was invisible to the press and the American people.

'But this intense effort has not only resulted in innovative solutions but an automated high input system bringing the availability of these quality coronavirus testing to the American people at unprecedented speed,' she said.