For the first time in American history, a major disaster declaration has been issued over the COVID-19 coronavirus in all 50 states.
President Donald Trump issued the declaration for Wyoming in response to a request by Governor Mark Gordon on Saturday, the final state for which to do so.
Wyoming is the only state in which there have been no COVID-19 deaths to date; Gordon said in his letter to the president, “this declaration will help us to prepare and mobilize resources when we need them.”
It was the first time a president ever made the declaration of a major disaster in all 50 states at once, according to Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere.
The declarations make federal funding available for state and local governments in addition to some nonprofit organizations, according to the White House. In addition, state governments are able to coordinate with federal resources such as FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and the Army Corps of Engineers.
More than half a million Americans (514,453) were diagnosed with the COVID-19 coronavirus as of Saturday afternoon, and at least 20,071 had succumbed to the disease – more than the death toll in hard-hit Italy.