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Coronavirus Pandemic Prompts US National Emergency

Steve Herman

   U.S. President Donald Trump said he is declaring a national emergency,
   clearing the way for more federal aid to stream to states and cities to
   combat the coronavirus pandemic.

   "We will defeat this threat," Trump said Friday afternoon during a
   nationally televised news conference from the White House Rose Garden.

   Trump, who has declared five previous national emergencies, had come
   under increasing pressure, especially from opposition Democrats, in
   recent days to take such action as governors and mayors across the
   United States declared states of emergency, ordering the cancellation
   of public gatherings and closures of schools.

   The action by the president will free up tens of billions of dollars in
   funding in the Disaster Relief Fund. It allows a state to request the
   federal government pay for 75% of costs for such expenses as emergency
   workers, medical supplies, and tests and vaccinations to respond to the
   virus, which some epidemiologists warn could soon overwhelm the
   country's health care system.