Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump on Tuesday laid out new efforts his administration is undertaking as part of the federal response to the spread of novel coronavirus in the US.
Trump also said that the federal government is beginning a process to assist New York state in expanding its hospital bed capacity, after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo requested that the Army Corps of Engineers build temporary medical facilities.
"Yes, we're starting to (work to increase capacity). We're starting the process ... We hope it's not going to be necessary, but it could be necessary," Trump said during a briefing with the White House coronavirus task force.
Trump, finally, takes the coronavirus emergency seriously
"The state is working on it very hard themselves, but we'll probably supplement what they're doing," he added.
He also offered praise for Cuomo after criticizing him on Twitter earlier Tuesday.
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New administration efforts also include the Food and Drug Administration announcing "groundbreaking new policies to further increase testing," Trump said.
"All states can now authorize tests developed and used within their borders in addition to the FDA," Trump said.
The President also said the administration would be expanding accessibility to telehealth services for individuals using Medicare.
"Today we're also announcing a dramatic expansion of our telehealth services. Medicare patients can now visit any doctor by phone or video conference at no additional cost, including with commonly used services like FaceTime and Skype," Trump said. "In addition, states have the authority to cover telehealth services for their medical patients."
Trump added that the administration "will not enforce applicable HIPAA penalties so that doctors can greatly expand care for their patients using telehealth."
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
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