Live updates: President Trump declares a national emergency in response to coronavirus
March 13, 2020 at 2:51 p.m. GMT-5
PLEASE NOTE
The Washington Post is providing this story for free so that all readers have access to this important information about the coronavirus.
Here are some other significant developments:
- After facing heated, bipartisan criticism, the Trump administration announced a series of steps to boost the availability of tests and said it would partner with the private sector to set up drive-through testing sites.
- The World Health Organization warned that Europe “has now become the epicenter" of the pandemic.
- Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said he tested positive for the virus after attending an event in Florida with a top Brazilian government aide who has also tested positive. A senior Australian official also tested positive just days after meeting with U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr in Washington.
- Scientists have found that the coronavirus can stay infectious for days on some surfaces. They also discovered that the coronavirus can be shed by people before they develop symptoms and can linger in the body for many weeks.
2:51 p.m.
President Trump declares a national emergency
This post will be updated.
President Trump in a Friday afternoon news conference announced he is declaring a national emergency to address the spread of coronavirus, as public life in America continued to grind to a halt.
“I am officially declaring a national emergency, two very big words,” President Trump said, addressing reporters and news cameras in the Rose Garden.
The declaration will allow the administration to utilize the Stafford Act, the federal law that governs disaster-relief efforts, to provide emergency funding to state and local governments.
Trump said that the declaration would free up $50 billion to distribute to states and territories to address the growing emergency.
By Angela Fritz and Meryl Kornfield
2:21 p.m.
William Barr, Ivanka Trump evaluated after meeting with Australian minister who tested positive for coronavirus
A top government official from Australia said that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus, just days after he returned from a visit to Washington where he interacted with Ivanka Trump, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr and U.S. acting homeland security secretary Chad Wolf.
On Friday, Australia’s home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, woke up with a fever and sore throat and was immediately tested for coronavirus, he said in a statement. After the test was returned, he checked into the hospital in compliance with Queensland’s health protocols.
Dutton visited Justice Department headquarters on March 5 for a news conference about an initiative to fight online sexual exploitation of children. He was one of six government officials who spoke at the news conference, including Barr and Wolf.
With counterparts from Britain, New Zealand and Canada, the officials stood together on a dais for about 45 minutes to discuss the initiative. Given the number of countries involved in the announcement, there were scores of people who attended the gathering.
The group also met that day with White House officials, and Dutton was photographed standing directly next to Ivanka Trump, President Trump’s daughter, and a few feet from Barr.
Officials said Barr stayed home from work Friday but is feeling well, and medical experts have not recommended he get tested.
“The AG is feeling great and not showing any symptoms,” said a Justice Department spokeswoman. “He is staying home today and has consulted with CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]. CDC is not recommending he be tested at this point.”
A statement from White House spokesman Judd Deere said Dutton was asymptomatic during his interaction with U.S. officials last week.
“Exposures from the case were assessed and the White House Medical Unit confirmed, in accordance with CDC guidance, that Ivanka is exhibiting no symptoms and does not need to self-quarantine,” Deere said. “She worked from home today out of an abundance of caution until guidance was given.”
Kellyanne Conway, White House counselor to the president, also was present at the meeting and confirmed she met with Dutton but said she had not been tested for the virus.
Yesterday 🇦🇺 Home Affairs @PeterDutton_MP joins @IvankaTrump, Attorney General Barr & our five eyes partners 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇨🇦🇳🇿 to fight online child exploitation. We heard from 9 brave survivors & announced principles that technology companies should implement to protect children online pic.twitter.com/3ifeJnGJPI— Australia in the US 🇦🇺🇺🇸 (@AusintheUS) March 6, 2020
James Brokenshire, the British security minister, said in a tweet Friday that he’d had breakfast with Dutton in Washington before the two went to a White House roundtable. Brokenshire said he is planning to self-isolate.
The news of Dutton’s diagnosis came as Australian officials urged people not to interrupt their “daily normal routines” over the pandemic, even as they announced some sweeping efforts to contain it.
The virus’s wide spread across many countries in Europe and Asia has yet to fully replicate itself in Australia, which has more than 120 cases and at least three fatalities.
But the government response has not been without controversy. Australia quarantined citizens evacuated from Wuhan, China, at an offshore immigration detention center best known for holding asylum seekers.
By Teo Armus, Devlin Barrett, Matt Zapotosky and Katie Mettler
1:50 p.m.
University of Michigan cancels commencement
The University of Michigan announced Friday it is canceling commencement ceremonies for 2020 graduates, making it the first large U.S. university to do so as part of ongoing reactions to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Today, we take further important action to reduce density & protect the health & safety of our staff, faculty, and students,” President Mark Schlissel tweeted, along with announcing several new directives.
“Students are encouraged to go home when possible,” he wrote. “Managers are encouraged to provide remote work opportunities. All exams will take place remotely.”
He also advised students to avoid large social gatherings and said that the university had established a paid leave fund for employees.
“We will look at ways to celebrate 2020 graduates in the future,” Schlissel added in an announcement on the university’s website.
The University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus has about 30,000 undergraduate students, and the school also offers graduate programs.
By Miriam Berger
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