Donald Trump Announces 'National Emergency; POTUS Takes 'No Responsibility' Over Alleged COVID-19 Testing Failure
(Photo : Jonathan Ernst/REUTERS)
On Friday, Donald Trump declared a "national emergency." "Two very big words," he said, which he deemed essential to combat the virus outbreak in the United States.
The announcement was said to free up funds amounting to $50 billion to help alleviate the unfortunate situation in the country. So far, over 2,977 positive cases have been confirmed with the death toll reaching 60 in numbers.
According to CNN News, the US President said that he takes "no responsibility" over the reported failures and "missteps" that many health professionals called in regarding the COVID-19 testing kit distribution across the country. He also went on to state that the current administration just follows what the previous administration has set in terms of the rules and regulations.
Donald Trump also revealed that was "allowing" his health secretary to "bypass" some rules and regulations. This was said to give him, as well as the doctors and hospitals," more "flexibility" in response to the outbreak.
He then announced that he is placing the US Vice President, Mike Pence as the head of the administration's "coronavirus task force. Testing kits will also add in numbers. By next week, the President reportedly expects additional 1.4 million kits to be available and 5 million before the month ends.
As per Politico, Donald Trump also "outlined" the agreements that the administration made with private companies. In his statements, he mentioned Google, Target, and Walmart.
It was said that these private companies will help facilitate "swifter" COVID-19 testing for the American people. While Walmart and Target were revealed to set aside spaces in their parking lots for the designated testing sites, Google was said to have pledged in setting up a website for a faster determination of whether a person needs to be tested or not. The platform will also reportedly include the nearest testing sites available.
While the testing kits will be largely available for everyone, the US President reportedly discourages everyone to rush a test. It was said that Donald Trump deemed it "unnecessary," especially for people who are not showing or experiencing the symptoms.
In another scope recently released by ABC 7 News, it was announced that the administration has restricted the United States in travels to and from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. This was later followed by an announcement that Donald Trump is now considering a "domestic travel ban" in some parts of the country.