G7 leaders to host videoconference on COVID-19 next week

WASHINGTON - Leaders of Group of Seven (G7) will hold a videoconference on COVID-19 early next week, the White House said on Friday.

During his phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, US President Donald Trump agreed to host a videoconference on the coronavirus with all of the G7 leaders early next week, according to a White House statement.

The two leaders discussed how France and the United States are working to combat COVID-19 as well as opportunities to work together to contain the pandemic.

Earlier in the day, Trump declared a national emergency to open up $50 billion in federal aid to help combat the spread of COVID-19 across the country.

The country reported 2,028 COVID-19 cases as of Friday night with at least 43 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

All G7 members have been suffering from the spread of COVID-19. Italy, the hardest-hit member, reported 250 new coronavirus deaths on Friday, taking the toll to 1,266, with 17,660 infections overall, a rise of 2,547 since Thursday evening.