Faced with the coronavirus epidemic, Donald Trump said on Wednesday March 18 that he considered himself "Like a president in wartime". "It is a war we are waging, it is a very very difficult situation"he said at a White House press conference. The President of the United States also affirmed that the country was in "War against the Chinese virus", according to the controversial formula he now uses to name the coronavirus detected for the first time in China in December, despite protests from Beijing.
Trump has announced that he will use the Defense Production Act, which will allow his administration to speed up production of the equipment needed to fight the epidemic. This provision dates back to the Korean War and gave the American President expanded powers allowing him to "Accelerate and increase the resources reserved for American industry to support the defense, energy, space and homeland security programs", recall the official American websites.
The President has also announced that a hospital ship will be sent to New York, one of the areas most affected by the virus, and that a second similar ship will be dispatched to the West Coast. He also announced a closure of the border with Canada, its second economic partner, except for travel deemed essential and goods. He hoped to be able to reopen it in thirty days.
Injecting liquidity into the economy
The Trump administration asked Congress on Wednesday to approve the payment of $ 500 billion (461 billion euros) to American taxpayers, effective April 6. US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin brandished the threat of 20% unemployment before Republican senators if a massive economic stimulus package is not adopted to cushion the impact of the epidemic.
For the Trump administration, the top priority is to inject cash into the most vulnerable businesses and Americans to avoid bankruptcy, layoffs and the inability of many households to continue paying their bills. The world's leading power, which took a long time to launch the tests, now has more than 7,300 confirmed cases and 115 deaths.
