By AFPMore by this AuthorWashington,US President Donald Trump announced a national state of emergency on Friday, freeing up $50 billion in federal funds for the battle against the coronavirus pandemic as he vowed to "vastly" ramp up testing capacity. "To unleash the full power of the federal government, I'm officially declaring a national emergency," Trump told a news conference on the White House lawn. "I'm also asking every hospital in this country to activate emergency preparedness plan to meet the needs of Americans everywhere," Trump said. The national emergency would also confer broad new authority on the US health secretary to waive a series of regulations, including on telemedicine or allowing hospitals to bring additional staff on board. The US Food and Drug Administration has already given emergency approval to Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche for a new and much faster coronavirus test.

Source: Daily Nation March 13, 2020 20:15 UTC