Yamiche Alcindor:

Well, the president took a major step today in declaring this national emergency.

And what it's going to do, he says, is to have the full force of the federal government focused on and targeted on a coronavirus response.

So walking through some of the things that it's going to do, it's going to provide $42.6 billion in disaster aid. That's going to be able to go through states, through the — through FEMA, which is, of course, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It has been something that's been — that's happened when it comes to hurricanes.

The other thing that the national emergency is going to do is food assistance, shelter and medical responses. That's basic needs that Americans might need.

And the other thing it's going to do is unemployment and insurance and overtime payment, and that's going to be focused on workers who are impacted by the coronavirus.

So, what we're seeing here is the president really trying to say, we are stepping up efforts. And, of course, this is all happening as the president himself says he will likely be tested for coronavirus. We now know that there are two people at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida that have tested positive for the virus.