PLUS: Trump declares state of emergency, says ‘I don’t take any responsibility at all’ for testing lag
Trump declaration frees up resources to combat coronavirus; Pelosi, White House reach deal
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency in order to free up more money and resources. But he denied any responsibility for delays in making testing available for the new virus, whose spread has roiled markets and disrupted the lives of everyday Americans.
Speaking from the Rose Garden, Trump said, “I am officially declaring a national emergency,” unleashing as much as $50 billion for state and local governments to respond to the outbreak.
Trump also announced a range of executive actions, including a new public-private partnership to expand coronavirus testing capabilities with drive-through locations, as his administration has come under fire for being too slow in making the test available.
Trump said, “I don’t take responsibility at all” for the slow rollout of testing.
Pelosi, Mnuchin reach aid deal
Late Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a deal with the Trump administration for an aid package from Congress that aims at direct relief to Americans — free testing, two weeks of sick pay for workers, enhanced unemployment benefits and bolstered food programs.
“We are proud to have reached an agreement with the Administration to resolve outstanding challenges, and now will soon pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” Pelosi announced in a letter to colleagues after days of negotiations with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The House was poised to vote late Friday.
Trump tweeted his approval. “I fully support H.R. 6201: Families First CoronaVirus Response Act,” Trump wrote.
Cruise lines suspend trips 30 days
Trump tweeted on Friday that four major cruise ship companies have agreed to suspend trips from the U.S. for 30 days, effective at midnight.
Trump said that Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and MSC Cruises all agreed to the suspensions. He said the cruise line industry is a “great and important industry — it will be kept that way!”
The U.S. State Department advised Sunday against any travel on cruise ships, particularly for those with underlying health conditions. The advisory said the CDC has noted an “increased risk of infection of COVID-19 in a cruise ship environment.”
The cruise industry has taken a beating in the stock market since the coronavirus began to spread.
Carnival had already suspended its Princess line of cruises for nearly two months.
Royal Caribbean announced the “voluntary” suspension earlier Friday, saying it would reach out to people who had already booked cruises.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, said it was suspending all cruise voyages embarking between March 13 and April 11.
MSC said it was canceling all its Caribbean cruises from Miami from March 14 through April 30.
On Friday, shares of Carnival Corp. and Norwegian Cruise Lines posted double-digit gains. Still, Carnival’s shares lost more than half their value and Norwegian shares a third of theirs over the course of the week.
U.S. deaths jump to 49
The number of people who have died from the new coronavirus in the U.S. jumped by eight on Friday — from 41 to 49.
Washington state health officials reported six new COVID-19 deaths on Friday, making the state’s total 37. Three of the new fatalities were associated with a nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, that has been the epicenter of the disease in the state.
Colorado health officials reported the state’s first coronavirus death. A woman in her 80s with underlying health conditions died in El Paso County.
California announced Friday that the state now has 247 confirmed cases and one new death, bringing the fatality total to five.
Schools staying open in NYC
The nation’s largest public school system is staying open during the coronavirus crisis, New York City’s mayor said Friday, defying
mounting pressure to close as he raised concerns about the unintended consequences of leaving more than 1.1 million students with no place to go.
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision leaves the Big Apple as an outlier among a growing list of cities and states. “Many, many parents want us to keep schools open,” the Democratic mayor said. “Depend on it. Need it. Don’t have another option.”
250 more deaths in Italy
New infections in Italy soared by more than 2,500 and virus-related deaths made their biggest single-day jump there, increasing by 250. In the three weeks since the country identified its first virus cluster, Italy has reached a total of 17,600 confirmed cases, with 1,266 deaths. The government has ordered an unprecedented lockdown, ordering businesses to close and restricting movement.
“Europe has now become the epicenter of the pandemic,” said World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “More cases are now being reported every day than were reported in China at the height of its epidemic.”
New infections also rose sharply in Spain, and the government put 60,000 people in four towns on a mandatory lockdown Friday that echoed Italy’s. Madrid is struggling with nearly 2,000 infections, many in nursing homes.
In just 24 hours, the numbers of confirmed cases spiked ominously in some places: France saw an additional 800 cases to reach more than 3,600 by Friday and Britain went from 590 to 798. In Africa, where experts warn that containment is key because of the continent’s already-strained health care systems, six new countries confirmed infections.
China, where the virus emerged late last year, reported just eight new cases Friday and seven deaths. In South Korea, which has had more than 8,000 cases overall, Friday marked the first day that recoveries outnumbered new infections. It reported another 107 cases Saturday.
Trump ‘most likely’ will get tested
Trump acknowledged Friday he “most likely” will be tested now after having been in contact with several officials who have tested positive for the virus. “Fairly soon,” he said.
Still, Trump said officials don’t want people taking the test unless they have certain symptoms. “We don’t want people without symptoms to go and do that test,” Trump said, adding, “It’s totally unnecessary.”
Cruise ship nearly unloaded
A cruise ship that docked in Oakland, California, on Monday after being struck with the coronavirus has disembarked 2,450 passengers and transported them to appropriate quarantine sites.
Princess Cruises said only 14 international passengers remained on board while waiting to be repatriated to their home countries.
U.S. angry at China rumor
The State Department on Friday summoned China’s ambassador to the U.S. to complain about recent comments from a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman suggesting that the U.S. Army may have introduced the coronavirus to Wuhan.
The department said it had protested the comments from deputy ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian and noted that China’s storyline about the COVID-19 virus “has been shifting away from the Wuhan Huanan market since mid-January indicating that China is trying to avoid responsibility for the outbreak.”