US President Donald Trump has announced a national state of emergency, freeing up $50 billion in federal funds for the battle against the coronavirus pandemic as he vowed to "vastly" ramp up testing capacity, AFP reported.

"The next eight weeks are critical," he said. "We can learn and we will turn a corner on this virus."

Trump called on all US states to set up emergency operation centers and said the government was partnering with the private sector to "vastly increase and accelerate our capacity to test" for the virus, amid criticism about a lack of test kits nationwide.

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