Trump news: President will not take coronavirus test despite dining with infected official as New York City declares state of emergency
White House says president will not be tested after Brazilian press secretary who dined at Mar-a-Lago infected
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The EU has hit back at Donald Trump after the president addressed the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday night to announce a 30-day emergency travel restriction on 26 European nations because of the coronavirus, with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen condemning a decision made “unilaterally and without consultation”.
US commentators were quick to express concern about the “militaristic, nationalistic” tone of the president’s drastic decree, with Barack Obama staffers Susan Rice, Ben Rhodes and David Litt all taking to Twitter to voice their fears. “He’s gonna get us all killed,” wrote Litt, not entirely joking.
Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders each offered their own course of action following Trump's address.
The former vice president and Vermont senator pleaded for "compassion" as the virus spreads, standing in stark contrast to the president's tonally bleak remarks.
Mr Sanders said: "If there ever was a time in the modern history of our country when we are all in this together, this is that moment."
Slamming the president's assessment of Covid-19 as a "foreign virus" as "falling back on xenophobia", Mr Biden called the lack of a comprehensive federal paid sick leave policy a "national disgrace" as millions of American workers could face cut hours or layoffs and quarantines that could significantly impact their incomes.
He unveiled his campaign's multi-pronged approach to the crisis, offering it up to the White House for consideration.
As the press secretary of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro reportedly tested positive for the virus days of meeting Trump, the White House has cancelled St Patrick’s Day celebrations with Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar and Trump 2020 events in Colorado, Nevada and Wisconsin in the interest of safeguarding the public.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grishman said the president and Mike Pence have no plans to get tested, despite their likely exposure to the virus.
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Trump poses for photos with Brazilian press secretary
The president appeared in photographs with the Brazilian press secretary who tested positive for coronavirus:
Senate Republican: Senate will take up coronavirus funding bill 'when we come back' as lawmakers call for action on 'failing' tests
Senator Lamar Alexander claims that the Senate will wait until after its recess to vote on legislation that would provide emergency funding in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak while Americans brace for closures, lost incomes and healthcare shortfalls.
The Senate isn't scheduled to return until 23 March.
Earlier today, Alexander and dozens of other lawmakers in DC — as the Capitol begins to shutter — admitted a "serious deficiency" in the nation's testing abilities.
In a briefing, the director of the Centers for Disease Control said the current testing abilities are "failing."
"Let's admit it," he said.
CDC director repeats 'Europe is the new China' as president falsely claims Americans are being tested after travel
Following Donald Trump's emergency ban on travel from Europe in the wake of the coronavirus spread, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that cases in at least 30 states are linked to cases that originated from Europe.
Dr Robert Redfield told the House Oversight Committee that "30 states or more were linked actually to cases in Europe," which he called "the new China.”
Meanwhile, the president lied from the White House, telling reporters that "any American coming back or anybody's coming back, we have a tremendous testing set up where people coming in have to be tested."
Fed to pump $1.5 trillion into economy as markets plummet
In an aggressive and dramatic move on Thursday, the Federal Reserve Bank is injecting $1.5 trillion into the US financial system to "address highly unusual disruptions" associated with the coronavirus outbreak, as Wall Street looks to one of its worst weeks in decades.
The Fed, essentially the governing back of the US, is pumping short-term cash loans into banks and flooding the market with liquidity and buying "a range of maturities to roughly match the maturity composition of Treasury securities outstanding" in an attempt to ease the free-falling economy.
Biden says lack of paid sick leave a 'national disgrace' in attack on Trump's response
Joe Biden unveiled his own plan to combat the coronavirus spread following Donald Trump's dramatic announcement of a ban on all travel from Europe despite warnings from public health officials that a surge of community infections within the US is inevitable.
Offering the White House his campaign's own plan to face the outbreak, the former vice president and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate called for increased transparency, including daily updates of the number of Covid-19 tests performed, as well as positive diagnoses, and for the installation of at least 10 mobile testing and drive-though sites in each state.
Mr Biden called the lack of a comprehensive federal paid sick leave policy a "national disgrace" as millions of American workers could face cut hours or layoffs and quarantines that could significant impact their incomes.
He said the president's recently announced plans to combat the virus shouldn't "fall back on xenophobia" after Mr Trump called the flu-like respiratory illness a "foreign virus" in his Wednesday night address to the nation.
"Downplaying it or being overly dismissive or spreading misinformation is only going to hurt us and further advantage of the spread of disease", Mr Biden said on Thursday. "Neither should we panic or fall back on xenophobia. Labelling it a 'foreign virus' does not displace accountability for the misjudgements that have been taken thus far from the Trump administration."
Senate recess delayed as lawmakers debate coronavirus legislation
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called off a planned recess as Congress presses forward with emergency relief measures.
Coronavirus at 'scale of major war': Bernie Sanders slams Trump's response and calls for mass mobilisation to confront outbreak in US
In his remarks to the nation following Donald Trump's maligned response to the coronavirus, 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called on Congress to lead a bipartisan, science-based response to the crisis, among a host of immediate mobilisation efforts the senator said should be in place to combat the outbreak.
He also called for transparency from White House and the federal declaration of a state of emergency to free up funding in communities across the US.
The inadequate US response to coronavirus has bolstered his signature Medicare for All platform as Americans navigate a complex and overwhelmed health system that is bracing for thousands of new patients.
"You hesitate about getting the medical care you need because you cannot afford to get that medical care", he said from Vermont. "[Many Americans] can’t afford to go to a doctor let alone get a coronavirus test."
He said it's the federal government's responsibility to "make it clear" that "everyone is able to get all the healthcare they need without cost", rather than suggest that "if you’re working class or poor you get to the end of the line. That would be morally unacceptable."
His plan of action also called for national and local hotlines for people to call into, as well as expanded community health centers, and protecting vulnerable people from risk of infection, including incarcerated people and people inside immigration detention centers, "all people regardless of their immigration status."
White House: No plans for Trump to be tested for coronavirus despite likely contact with virus
After the communications director for Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for coronavirus just days after meeting US officials in Florida at Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said that “exposures from the case are being assessed, which will dictate next steps.”
But "both the President and Vice President had almost no interactions with the individual who tested positive and do not require being tested at this time", she said.
Photos show both men posing with the Brazilian delegation.
Democratic candidates offer their response to coronavirus outbreak
Each in stark contrast to the message delivered by Donald Trump on Wednesday, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders addressed Americans on Thursday as the US prepares for the coronavirus pandemic.
While Bernie Sanders underscored the failure of American institutions to address the crisis and pointed to the need for a Medicare for All plan to ensure comprehensive care as infections surge, Joe Biden revealed his campaign's plan and offered it up to the White House.
Stocks plummet to worst days in more than 30 years
Global stocks have plummeted once again, with the FTSE, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average posting their worst days since 1987.
The continued decline comes as global concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic have continued to mount, with the US Treasury Department offering up $1.5 trillion in loans to banks to try and smooth investor concerns.
That injection of capital momentarily calmed the financial markets in the United States, but selling began again by mid-afternoon.
The Independent's Clark Mindock reports:
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