First Time in History: All US States Declare Disaster
President Trump has approved a disaster declaration for Wyoming in response to coronavirus, making the current pandemic the first time in history that every state in the country has been under a federal disaster declaration simultaneously.
All 50 states plus the US Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico have received a federal disaster declaration.
"With Donald Trump’s declaration for WY, the President has now declared for the 1st time in history that a major disaster exists within all 50 states at once. The President continues to respond to the needs of every Governor to protect the health of all Americans," Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere tweeted.
The move comes as confirmed cases of the coronavirus reached at least 519,453 as of Saturday afternoon.
At least 20,071 people have died in the US due to the disease, a death toll surpassing the one in hard-hit Italy - and a figure that has doubled, from 10,000 to more than 20,000, in just five days.
Worldwide, confirmed cases have surpassed 1.75 million, and more than 100,000 people have died.