President Trump has come under fire for his hesitant response to the spread of the corona virus. Now he is declaring a national emergency - and is releasing billions of euros in disaster relief to help tackle the crisis.
Washington (dpa) - US President Donald Trump proclaims a national emergency due to the spread of the corona virus in the USA.
The measure would release additional federal funding of up to $ 50 billion to fight the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus, Trump said at a press conference in the White House rose garden. A national emergency in the United States does not mean a nationwide state of emergency like in some other states, in which fundamental rights are overridden in such a case.
According to the national health agency CDC, more than 1,600 Covid-19 cases have been registered in the United States to date. According to the CDC, however, fewer than 14,000 tests have been carried out since mid-January. For comparison: According to media reports, South Korea tests up to 20,000 people a day. In view of the few tests in the USA, the number of unreported cases should therefore be significantly higher. According to the CDC, more than 40 deaths have so far been recorded in the USA due to the virus.
Declaring a state of emergency gives Trump far-reaching powers. Among other things, the measure provides access to a fund with disaster relief funds that Congress has endowed with $ 42.6 billion (€ 38.5 billion). Senate Democrats wrote in a letter on Wednesday calling for a state of emergency to make these funds available.
Trump had initially tried to reduce the risk of coronavirus in the United States. After the first few cases, he was confident that the number of infections would soon return to near zero. Instead, the number skyrocketed. Trump also said during a visit to the CDC health agency in Atlanta, Georgia last Friday, "Anyone who wants a test can get a test." To date, however, this is not the reality.
The director of the National Institute for Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, also contradicted Trump's account. "The system isn't really focused on what we need right now," he said at a congressional hearing on Thursday. "It's a weakness, let's admit it." A medical instruction is usually necessary for a test. "We are not prepared for the idea that everyone can get it easily, like people in other countries. Should we be? Yes, but we are not."
