Trump declares a national emergency

President Trump declared a national emergency over the coronavirus pandemic Friday as public life in America continued to grind to a halt. Trump’s announcement sent the Dow soaring nearly 2,000 points.

Concerns about the coronavirus rippled across the globe, as schools closed to millions of students; more events were canceled, more landmarks shuttered; and the Group of Seven leaders planned a virtual crisis conference.

A second person who visited President Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago estate last weekend has tested positive for coronavirus, according to emails from Republican party officials to other guests who were present. The president has been near two people in two days who have since tested positive.

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.
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• The World Health Organization warned that Europe “has now become the epicenter" of the pandemic
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• The U.S. strategy for slowing the spread of the coronavirus is currently focused on social distancing, in recognition of the fact that human beings are vectors of covid-19. Simultaneously, people in the United States have been urged by the CDC to clean and disinfect surfaces in their homes. The CDC has put forth guidance on how to blend a disinfectant solution from bleach — five tablespoons (1/3 cup) of bleach per gallon of water (and never mix bleach with ammonia or any other cleanser).
  Amid these precautions, people should understand that surfaces that contain the virus — known to scientists as fomites — are not the major drivers of this pandemic. Covid-19 is primarily spread through direct person-to-person contact.
  “It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads,” the CDC says.

$50 billion freed for state and local governments

• 6:27 PM
  White House taps Google sister company Verily to build coronavirus site
• 6:11 PM
  Trump wants to buy oil to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — and help companies
• 5:59 PM
  Trump shook hands, patted backs and touched the mic 31 times during news conference

Trump administration, House Democrats reach agreement on relief bill, Pelosi says

The package includes paid sick leave for affected workers, unemployment insurance and money for food stamps and other food security programs.

• By Erica Werner, Mike DeBonis, Paul Kane and Jeff Stein
• • McConnell absent from negotiations on relief package

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U.S. markets surge after wild day of trading

The Dow shot up nearly 2,000 points, about 10 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq also surged more than 9 percent. It was Wall Street’s biggest rally since 2008.