President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on Friday in response to the global coronavirus pandemic, with the outbreak reaching a new watermark of 5,000 deaths, as rising infection rates throttle the world economy and force countries to take dramatic actions in order to stem the spread.

Around the world, more than 135,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported, according to the World Health Organization. Europe — led by surging infections in Italy — is now considered a major hot zone outside of China, with more cases now reported every day than when the outbreak was roiling the world’s second largest economy.

In the United States, officials are bolstering efforts to test more potential cases, which has been “failing” as infection rates soar, and the virus spreads unchecked.

In a press conference on Friday, Trump declared an emergency that would funnel $50 billion to states and localities — and mobilize full resources of the federal government. He also outlined a public-private partnership with key companies intended to accelerate access to testing and treatment.

That includes Google (GOOG), which is building website to help reduce congestion for health facilities by filtering out those who would actually need to be tested for the coronavirus. Other companies at the news conference Friday were Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), CVS (CVS), Walgreens (WBA), Quest Diagnostics (DGX), Labcorp (LH), Becton Dickinson (BDX) and a number of home health companies.

“No resource will be spared, none whatsoever,” Trump said in his remarks — even as he urged people to not “run out” to get tested if they weren’t overtly showing signs.

“Our overriding goal is to stop the spread of the virus...and this will pass, and we’re going to be stronger for it,” the president added. “All Americans have a role to play” in curbing the pandemic, Trump added.

In addition, HHS Secretary Alex Azar has been given broader powers for health regulations including waiving bed limits for hospitals, waiving license requirements for doctors who want to travel to a hard-hit state to help out, and expanding telehealth use to help alleviate the burden on health facilities.

To offset the lack of available testing in the U.S., businesses, states and localities have implemented social distancing tactics that involve bans on large gatherings, closing schools and allowing employees to work from home — with large, bustling cities starting to resemble ghost towns.

However, social distancing is “not a panacea,” said Michael Ryan, who heads up the WHO’s health emergencies program, in response to a question from Yahoo Finance.

It is a “very costly intervention. It’s costly in economic terms and they have to be used in a time sensitive fashion,” he explained. It only works “where there is not a good handle” on testing and contact tracing, he said.

Investors, meanwhile, suspect that the crisis has yet to reach a peak, with Wall Street struggling to hold gains after its worst day since 1987’s “Black Monday” sell-off. Weeks of relentless, panic-driven selling have entrenched the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq firmly in bear-market territory.

Racing for the vaccine

Total confirmed cases have shot above 130,000, and the death count has topped 5,000. More

Swiss health care giant Roche announced Friday it received emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration to use its coronavirus test, which may significant increase the U.S. ability to get testing results — within a matter of hours.

The company has been working with the Centers for Disease Control to initially supply hospitals and national reference laboratories, such as Labcorp and Quest, in the hardest hit areas.

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