Christ Yoder
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President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency due to the novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19 that has spread around the world, in a development that frees up additional federal aid to fight the outbreak. .
Trump’s move invokes the Stafford Act and puts more funds for states, territories and municipalities at stake, and it comes after multiple reports earlier in the day said it was in the works. The president said his action would open up access to up to $50 billion in federal aid.
Related:What a national emergency declaration means
And see :Coronavirus update – 137,066 cases, 5,069 deaths, the reality of COVID-19 hits Americans
Trump also said Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG,
GOOGL,
Google was helping develop a website that will help determine if testing is warranted and facilitate nearby testing.
Among other initiatives, the President said that interest would be waived on all student loans held by the federal government to help students and their families, and he said that a large amount of CL.1 crude oil,
which has experienced a fall in prices, will be purchased for the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Additionally, Trump said he would “most likely” be tested for COVID-19 “fairly soon.” He had previously said he was not concerned that a Brazilian official he had met had tested positive.
Republican and Democratic leaders had said earlier Friday that they were close to agreement on a coronavirus bill that aims to provide paid sick leave for those affected by COVID-19 and free testing for the disease, among other measures.
But Trump and other politicians signaled Friday afternoon that the bill could pass the Democratic-led House only on partisan lines, indicating it may not gain support from the Republican-led Senate. and the President – and therefore would not become law.
Trump said House Democrats were “not giving enough” in the coronavirus bill talks. Last week, Trump signed into law an $8.3 billion preliminary measure to help fight the outbreak.
Analysts stressed that investors should be aware that this package is “disaster relief” and that the fiscal stimulus that Wall Street is hoping for “remains elusive.”
SPX US Stocks,
DJIA,
closed higher on Friday but was hammered this month by coronavirus concerns. Critics on Wall Street of Trump’s Oval Office speech Wednesday night on the outbreak were not positive, with analysts slamming him for seeking to shift the blame to Europe and offering a “vague tax holiday.” on wages”.
Returning to the ban on foreign nationals traveling from Europe to the United States announced on Wednesday which exempted the United Kingdom and Ireland, Trump said on Friday that the United Kingdom may have to be added to the ban as coronavirus cases in this country increase.
Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted on Friday that he spoke by phone with Trump and that they had agreed “to organize an extraordinary leaders’ summit on Monday by videoconference on COVID-19”.
“We will coordinate research efforts on a vaccine and treatments, and work on an economic and financial response,” Macron said in his tweet.
