Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 53 (Wednesday, March 18, 2020)]

[Presidential Documents]

[Pages 15337-15338]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[FR Doc No: 2020-05794]

Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 53 / Wednesday, March 18, 2020 /

Presidential Documents

[[Page 15337]]

Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020

Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the

Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In December 2019, a novel (new) coronavirus known as

SARS-CoV-2 (``the virus'') was first detected in Wuhan,

Hubei Province, People's Republic of China, causing

outbreaks of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 that has

now spread globally. The Secretary of Health and Human

Services (HHS) declared a public health emergency on

January 31, 2020, under section 319 of the Public

Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), in response to

COVID-19. I have taken sweeping action to control the

spread of the virus in the United States, including by

suspending entry of foreign nationals seeking entry who

had been physically present within the prior 14 days in

certain jurisdictions where COVID-19 outbreaks have

occurred, including the People's Republic of China, the

Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Schengen Area of

Europe

States, including by

suspending entry of foreign nationals seeking entry who

had been physically present within the prior 14 days in

certain jurisdictions where COVID-19 outbreaks have

occurred, including the People's Republic of China, the

Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Schengen Area of

Europe. The Federal Government, along with State and

local governments, has taken preventive and proactive

measures to slow the spread of the virus and treat

those affected, including by instituting Federal

quarantines for individuals evacuated from foreign

nations, issuing a declaration pursuant to section

319F-3 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.

247d-6d), and releasing policies to accelerate the

acquisition of personal protective equipment and

streamline bringing new diagnostic capabilities to

laboratories. On March 11, 2020, the World Health

Organization announced that the COVID-19 outbreak can

be characterized as a pandemic, as the rates of

infection continue to rise in many locations around the

world and across the United States.

The spread of COVID-19 within our Nation's communities

threatens to strain our Nation's healthcare systems. As

of March 12, 2020, 1,645 people from 47 States have

been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. It

is incumbent on hospitals and medical facilities

throughout the country to assess their preparedness

posture and be prepared to surge capacity and

capability. Additional measures, however, are needed to

successfully contain and combat the virus in the United

States.

virus that causes COVID-19. It

is incumbent on hospitals and medical facilities

throughout the country to assess their preparedness

posture and be prepared to surge capacity and

capability. Additional measures, however, are needed to

successfully contain and combat the virus in the United

States.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the

United States, by the authority vested in me by the

Constitution and the laws of the United States of

America, including sections 201 and 301 of the National

Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) and consistent

with section 1135 of the Social Security Act (SSA), as

amended (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5), do hereby find and

proclaim that the COVID-19 outbreak in the United

States constitutes a national emergency, beginning

March 1, 2020. Pursuant to this declaration, I direct

as follows:

Section 1. Emergency Authority. The Secretary of HHS

may exercise the authority under section 1135 of the

SSA to temporarily waive or modify certain requirements

of the Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children's Health

Insurance programs and of the Health Insurance

Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule

throughout the duration of the public health emergency

declared in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

[[Page 15338]]

Sec. 2. Certification and Notice. In exercising this

authority, the Secretary of HHS shall provide

certification and advance written notice to the

Congress as required by section 1135(d) of the SSA (42

U.S.C. 1320b-5(d)).

lth emergency

declared in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

[[Page 15338]]

Sec. 2. Certification and Notice. In exercising this

authority, the Secretary of HHS shall provide

certification and advance written notice to the

Congress as required by section 1135(d) of the SSA (42

U.S.C. 1320b-5(d)).

Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this

proclamation shall be construed to impair or otherwise

affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or

the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This proclamation shall be implemented

consistent with applicable law and subject to the

availability of appropriations.

(c) This proclamation is not intended to, and does

not, create any right or benefit, substantive or

procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any

party against the United States, its departments,

agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or

agents, or any other person.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

thirteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord two

thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United

States of America the two hundred and forty-fourth.

(Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2020-05794

Filed 3-17-20; 8:45 am]

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