Reporter Haley Perkins March 14th, 2020
On March 13, 2020, President Donald Trump declared the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States a national emergency.
According to the proclamation released by the White House, as of March 12, 2020 1, 645 people from 47 States have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.
The proclamation gives The Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to temporarily waive or modify certain requirements of the Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children's Health Insurance programs throughout the duration of the public health emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
President Trump has also issued a suspension of travel to and from many 26 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
This does not include:
- U.S citizens or permanent residents of the U.S
- spouses, parents, siblings, or children of U.S citizens
- U.S military members and their families
- those invited by the U.S Government to help with the virus
According to the proclamation released by the White House detailing the suspension of travel, there is no duration of how long this suspension will last.