Trump Declares National Emergency Over Coronavirus Pandemic

President Donald Trump, flanked by officials and business leaders, announces a national emergency with regard to the coronavirus in the White House Rose Garden in Washington on March 13, 2020. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on Friday to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic after more than 1,700 cases were confirmed in the United States.

His action will provide up to $50 billion in disaster relief funds to state and local governments in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease the new coronavirus causes.