Trump Declares National Emergency over New Coronavirus
2020-03-14
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1American President Donald Trump declared a national emergency Friday to provide more resources to fight the new coronavirus outbreak.
2Speaking from the White House, Trump said, "I am officially declaring a national emergency."
3He said the action would release up to $50 billion for state and local governments to deal with the outbreak.
4The president said he was also giving Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar emergency power to ease federal regulations and laws to give doctors and hospitals "flexibility" in treating patients.
5Trump spoke as his administration is talking with Congress about providing support for people and businesses affected by the outbreak.
6Before Trump's declaration, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives said the lower house would approve its own coronavirus proposal.
7She called on Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate to "put families first" by supporting the proposal.
8The House bill includes free testing for the virus, guaranteed sick pay for workers who cannot work, money for the unemployed and food programs for children, families and older people.
9The virus has changed the daily lives of many Americans.
10Sporting events have been canceled.
11Schools have been closed and people in some areas have been asked to limit their movements.
12The Trump administration also said Friday that it would provide $1.3 million to two companies to develop new COVID-19 tests.
13The new test could detect if a person has the new coronavirus within an hour.
14The announcement came as the U.S. struggles to provide tests to people who want them.
15The coronavirus crisis also has affected people close to Trump and some members of Congress.
16The president, his daughter Ivanka, Attorney General William Barr and several lawmakers are among those who have been near people who have been found to be infected with the new coronavirus.
17When asked by reporters if he would be tested for the virus, Trump said he would "most likely" get tested.
18In Europe, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his government will declare a two-week state of emergency on Saturday.
19He said, "It's an emergency that affects the life and health of all."
20The Associated Press reported Friday that Spain had more than 4,200 confirmed cases of the virus.
21It also said that 120 people had died of the COVID-19 disease.
22The prime minister warned that the country could have over 10,000 infected persons by next week.
23On Friday, Spain blocked the movement of 60,000 people in four towns.
24A state of emergency permits the government to limit personal movement and to take control of industries and hospitals across the nation.
25In Italy, officials admitted that restrictions have not contained the spread of the virus.
26This week, officials threatened heavy fines and even prison for anyone breaking the nation-wide quarantine.
27Three weeks after Italy identified its first case of infection in the north, the country now has a total of 17,600 confirmed cases, with 1,266 deaths.
28World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "Europe has now become the epicenter of the pandemic with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China."
29I'm Jill Robbins.
1American President Donald Trump declared a national emergency Friday to provide more resources to fight the new coronavirus outbreak. 2Speaking from the White House, Trump said, "I am officially declaring a national emergency." He said the action would release up to $50 billion for state and local governments to deal with the outbreak. 3The president said he was also giving Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar emergency power to ease federal regulations and laws to give doctors and hospitals "flexibility" in treating patients. 4Trump spoke as his administration is talking with Congress about providing support for people and businesses affected by the outbreak. Before Trump's declaration, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives said the lower house would approve its own coronavirus proposal. She called on Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate to "put families first" by supporting the proposal. 5The House bill includes free testing for the virus, guaranteed sick pay for workers who cannot work, money for the unemployed and food programs for children, families and older people. 6The virus has changed the daily lives of many Americans. Sporting events have been canceled. Schools have been closed and people in some areas have been asked to limit their movements. 7The Trump administration also said Friday that it would provide $1.3 million to two companies to develop new COVID-19 tests. The new test could detect if a person has the new coronavirus within an hour. The announcement came as the U.S. struggles to provide tests to people who want them. 8The coronavirus crisis also has affected people close to Trump and some members of Congress. The president, his daughter Ivanka, Attorney General William Barr and several lawmakers are among those who have been near people who have been found to be infected with the new coronavirus. 9When asked by reporters if he would be tested for the virus, Trump said he would "most likely" get tested. 10Emergency in Europe 11In Europe, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his government will declare a two-week state of emergency on Saturday. He said, "It's an emergency that affects the life and health of all." 12The Associated Press reported Friday that Spain had more than 4,200 confirmed cases of the virus. It also said that 120 people had died of the COVID-19 disease. The prime minister warned that the country could have over 10,000 infected persons by next week. 13On Friday, Spain blocked the movement of 60,000 people in four towns. A state of emergency permits the government to limit personal movement and to take control of industries and hospitals across the nation. 14In Italy, officials admitted that restrictions have not contained the spread of the virus. This week, officials threatened heavy fines and even prison for anyone breaking the nation-wide quarantine. 15Three weeks after Italy identified its first case of infection in the north, the country now has a total of 17,600 confirmed cases, with 1,266 deaths. 16World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "Europe has now become the epicenter of the pandemic with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China." 17I'm Jill Robbins. 18Hai Do adapted this story from Associated Press reports. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 19_______________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21regulation -n. an official rule or law that states how something should be done 22flexibility -n. the willingness or ability to change or try something new 23detect -v. to discover or find something that is being looked for 24quarantine -n. a situation in which a person or people are kept away from other to prevent a disease from spreading 25epicenter -n. the place on the Earth's surface that is where something begins, like an earthquake or a disease outbreak