President @realDonaldTrump from the Rose Garden: "I want you to know that your federal government will unleash every authority, resource, and tool at its disposal to safeguard the lives and health of our people." pic.twitter.com/0V958Voliv
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 13, 2020
Via Townhall:
Speaking from the Rose Garden Friday afternoon, President Trump officially declared a national emergency as the Wuhan coronavirus continues to spread.
“To unleash the full power of the federal government, I’m officially declaring a national emergency. Two very big words,” Trump said. “The action I am taking will open up access to up to $50 billion dollars for states, territories and localities in our shared fight against this disease.”
Business executives from Walgreens, Walmart, Quest Diagnostics, CVS, Target, Roche Diagnostics and other medical care companies also spoke at the event and explained they are ready to partner with the federal government to conduct testing for the virus. They will set up new testing sites at stores and in parking lots to get the job done.