President Donald Trump announced that he has officially declared a state of national emergency over the continued COVID-19 outbreaks taking place across the country. In a much-anticipated news conference on Friday afternoon, the President said the declaration would make it easier for state and local health authorities to react to further COVID-19 cases. Trump also asked hospitals around the country to activate emergency plans and set up emergency centers for COVID-19 patients effective immediately. He also reiterated the importance of improving America's testing capabilities, and that his administration was working closely with public lab companies like LabCorp (NYSE: LH) and Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) and the private sector in this regard. Image source: Getty Images. By declaring a national emergency, the President can invoke various disaster programs (including the Stafford Act) that could free up at least $50 billion in extra funding for states. At the same time, an emergency declaration also allows states to request the federal government to cover 75% of the costs involved in paying emergency workers, medical supplies, vaccinations, tests, and other healthcare expenses. U.S. COVID-19 cases are growing At present, there have been over 132,500 confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world, with the global death count sitting just under 5,000. Currently, the U.S. around 1,250 confirmed infections. Trump mentioned several companies by name during his statement, including Roche (OTC: RHHBY) and Google. He also emphasized the importance of telehealth services and the role they will play moving forward in fighting this virus. Shares of Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC) shot up 8.8% immediately following the President's comments. 10 stocks we like better than Teladoc HealthWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Teladoc Health wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of December 1, 2019 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Mark Prvulovic has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares) and Teladoc Health. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source