Coronavirus: El Salvador Declares State Of Emergency

El Salvador’s congress has declared a state of emergency and approved a partial suspension of the country’s constitution to tackle the coronavirus epidemic.

The measures include a restriction on free movement and assembly for a period of 30 days, allowing health officials to ban public gatherings.

“We have given the government legal mechanisms to deal with this serious health situation,” congressional president Mario Ponce said after Saturday’s vote.

El Salvador has yet to record a confirmed case of the COVID-19 outbreak.

On Wednesday the country banned entry to all foreigners for three weeks and imposed mandatory 30-day quarantines for citizens returning from abroad.

The nation’s president, Nayib Bukele, also suspended school and university classes nationwide.

Meanwhile, United States President, Donald Trump, has tested negative for the novel coronavirus, his physician said, following concerns over his exposure to a disease that has paralyzed the globe.

Trump agreed to the test after coming in contact with several members of a Brazilian presidential delegation visiting his Florida resort who have since tested positive for the virus.

“This evening I received confirmation that the test is negative,” the president’s physician Sean Conley said in a Saturday memo.

Trump, 73, had dismissed concerns over his exposure to the disease which has killed at least 51 Americans and upended the rhythm of daily life across the country, with millions working from home and schools shut. [AFP]