WASHINGTON – ? The U.S. Senate today approved legislation to confront the deadly coronavirus by providing $8.3 billion to test, treat, contain and develop a vaccine for the rapidly spreading disease. The bill, approved by the House Wednesday, now goes to President Trump for his signature.
“Speed is critical to containing the threat,” said Buchanan, who was one of the first in Congress to call for the president to declare a public health emergency.
Specifically, the bill will help fund better testing kits, development of a vaccine and research into treatment and therapeutics. It will also provide more than $2 billion for the Centers for Disease Control including nearly $1 billion to aid state and local responses. The bill also provides more than $1 billion in funding for the State Department to help prevent the global spread of the virus and to assist Americans impacted abroad.
“After meeting this week with doctors and health officials in my district, it is clear we need to make sure that our hospitals and medical facilities have the resources they need to treat and contain the disease,” Buchanan said. “We need to dramatically ramp-up the supply of test kits, increase the number of locations where people exhibiting symptoms can easily get tested, and accelerate the process of getting results back – hopefully in less than 24 hours.”
Florida’s first three confirmed cases involved residents of Manatee and Hillsborough counties — both in Buchanan’s congressional district. Five additional Florida residents have tested positive for the virus and are recovering out of state.
As of Thursday morning, the United States has recorded 11 deaths and at least 160 patients with the illness have been treated in 18 states across the country.
Buchanan also was one of the first to call for restricting flights into the country from China, the origin of the disease.
“It’s important for hospitals and government officials to keep people informed of ongoing developments, especially when friends or loved ones of patients are involved,” Buchanan said. “Transparency is always the best policy.”
