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Coronavirus Watch: Trump declares national emergency

Grace Hauck   | Paste BN

President Donald Trump has declared the coronavirus pandemic to be a national emergency.

The declaration:

  • Makes available up to $50 billion in federal disaster aid
  • Waives interest on student loans held by government agencies
  • Waives rules limiting the number of beds and length of stay in hospitals
  • Makes telehealth more easily accessible, providing care in ways that will not require patients to come into a doctor’s office
  • Allows hospitals to bring additional physicians on board

Trump also announced plans to partner with pharmaceutical and retail companies to set up drive-thru coronavirus test sites.

It's Friday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network, where we update you on everything to know about COVID-19.

Here's the latest, as of 4 p.m. ET:

  • U.S. companies have announced nearly 900 job cuts as a result of the outbreak.
  • Several states and several large urban school districts are shutting down all K-12 schools in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
  • Cleaning wipes are selling out. Here’s where you can still get them.
  • Top U.S. health official Anthony Fauci says we are going to see a "real escalation" of testing within two or three weeks.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday the House would pass an economic stimulus package aimed at boosting testing for the coronavirus and to help people displaced economically by the crisis. 
  • More than 1,700 people in the U.S. across 46 states have been infected with the coronavirus, and at least 41 people have died. Here's a map of all confirmed cases.
  • Stocks rebounded early Friday on hopes for a coronavirus aid package from Washington after Wall Street's worst day since the "Black Monday” crash of 1987.
  • The Masters golf tournament and the Boston Marathon have been postponed.

Hundreds of you have reached out to us with your questions, and we're listening. We've answered some of your specific concerns here, and we continue to update an explainer that addresses many common questions. What else would you like to know?

Jon from Sarasota, Florida, asks: Can COVID-19 be acquired by ingestion? That is, if an infected person sneezes on your food in the kitchen, will eating that food lead to infection?

Yes, it's possible, according to Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College. "People are looking into whether that's a route of infection and, possibly, a common route of infection," he said.

Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with the virus? What has your experience been like? We want to hear your story. Email me at ghauck@usatoday.com if you're interested in sharing.

Finally, thank you all for subscribing. We appreciate you trusting the Paste BN Network with this important information. Know someone who would benefit from this newsletter? Please forward this email so they can sign up here.

Here are today's coronavirus need-to-knows.

— Grace Hauck, Breaking News Reporter, @grace_hauck

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