President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he was declaring a national emergency that will immediately free up $50 billion to be used in battle against the coronavirus, which originated in China.

“We’re taking several decisive new actions in our very vigilant effort to combat and ultimately defeat the coronavirus,” Trump said. “We had some very old and obsolete rules that we had to live with that worked under certain circumstances but not under mass circumstances. They were in place a long time and we’re breaking them down now and they’re very usable for certain instances but not for this.”

“To unleash the full power of the federal government under this effort, I’m officially declaring a national emergency,” Trump said. “The action I am taking will open up access to up to $50 billion of very important and a large amount of money for states and territories and localities in our shared fight against this disease.”

“In furtherance of the order, I’m urging every state to set up emergency operations centers effective immediately,” Trump continued. “I’m also asking every hospital in this country to activate its emergency preparedness plan so they they can meet the needs of Americans everywhere. The hospitals are very engaged.”

WATCH: President Trump just declared a national emergency to open up more federal funds to combat coronavirus. He’s coordinating with leaders in America’s business community to take action.@RealDonaldTrump knows how to lead and will never hesitate to keep American safe. pic.twitter.com/RBQtRmaGif — Brad Parscale – Text TRUMP to 88022 (@parscale) March 13, 2020

Fox News anchor Bret Baier noted: “This is an impressive roll-out by @realDonaldTrump of CEO’s of major companies coming together to fight the coronavirus -while declaring a national emergency. The markets jumped 800+ points since this news conference started. A nation fighting a problem together–IS the message.”

This is an impressive roll-out by @realDonaldTrump of CEO's of major companies coming together to fight the coronavirus -while declaring a national emergency. The markets jumped 800+ points since this news conference started. A nation fighting a problem together–IS the message — Bret Baier (@BretBaier) March 13, 2020

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