WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says his administration will ask Congress to pass payroll tax relief as he looks to calm financial markets' fears over the impact of the coronavirus epidemic.
Trump told reporters Monday that the administration is seeking "very substantial relief." Trump stepped forward with the contours of an initiative after markets dropped sharply and as the outbreak spread.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told Fox News, “this is a very serious health problem.”
At the Pentagon, officials have begun “social distancing” measures.
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Several Trump confidants in Congress disclosed they were isolating themselves after potential exposure to the virus. One traveled with the president from Florida on Air Force One on Monday.
See the full coronavirus task force Monday briefing at the White House below:
