Report by Paula Antolini, March 11, 2020, 11:00PM EDT
Coronavirus Pandemic concerns lead to President Donald Trump’s oval office address to the nation tonight, putting more rules in place regarding travel and more.
“Today, the World Health Organization officially announced that this is a global pandemic,” he said. “This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history. I am confident that by counting and continuing to take these tough measures, we will significantly reduce the threat to our citizens and we will ultimately and expeditiously defeat this virus.”
Trump is suspending all travel from Europe to the USA to stem the spread of the coronavirus, effective Friday at midnight. The United Kingdom is not included in the restrictions.
“The European Union failed to take the same precautions and restrict travel from China and other hot spots. As a result, a large number of new clusters in the United States were seeded by travelers from Europe,” said Trump.
“Taking early intense action, we have seen dramatically fewer cases of the virus in the United States than are now present in Europe,” Trump said.
Trump indicated that health insurance companies had agreed to extend insurance coverage to cover coronavirus treatments and also waive related co-payments.
“To ensure that working Americans impacted by the virus can stay home without fear of financial hardship, I will soon be taking emergency action, which is unprecedented, to provide financial relief. This will be targeted for workers who are ill, quarantined, or caring for others due to coronavirus.” Trump will be asking Congress to take legislative action to extend this relief.
“At the same time, we are monitoring the situation in China and in South Korea. And, as their situation improves, we will re-evaluate the restrictions and warnings that are currently in place for a possible early opening,” Trump stated.
Trump said last week he signed into law an $8.3 billion funding bill to help C.D.C. and other government agencies fight the virus and support vaccines, treatments and distribution of medical supplies. Speaking of medical supplies, many countries have made the act of wearing a mask in public mandatory as a way of trying to protect people from catching and spreading the disease. As of yet, Trump is yet to follow suit. If you want to wear a mask, though, then you can do so off your own back. The N95 mask for sale at Pandemic Pal is one of the best at giving protection, so that might be a good choice.
Regarding risk Trump said, “The vast majority of Americans: The risk is very, very low. Young and healthy people can expect to recover fully and quickly if they should get the virus. The highest risk is for elderly population with underlying health conditions. The elderly population must be very, very careful.“
The Trump administration is coordinating directly with communities with the largest outbreaks, and has issued guidance on school closures, social distancing and reducing large gatherings.
Trump said, “To provide extra support for American workers, families, and businesses, tonight I am announcing the following additional actions: I am instructing the Small Business Administration to exercise available authority to provide capital and liquidity to firms affected by the coronavirus.
“Effective immediately, the S.B.A. will begin providing economic loans in affected states and territories. These low-interest loans will help small businesses overcome temporary economic disruptions caused by the virus. To this end, I am asking Congress to increase funding for this program by an additional $50 billion.
“Using emergency authority, I will be instructing the Treasury Department to defer tax payments, without interest or penalties, for certain individuals and businesses negatively impacted. This action will provide more than $200 billion of additional liquidity to the economy.
“Finally, I am calling on Congress to provide Americans with immediate payroll tax relief. Hopefully they will consider this very strongly.“
“I will never hesitate to take any necessary steps to protect the lives, health, and safety of the American people. I will always put the well being of America first,” Trump said.
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