- President Donald Trump announced that additional US National Guard forces will be activated in California, New York, and Washington to assist the hardest-hit states in responding to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
- The president also announced the government would provide resources like tens of thousands of masks, gowns, and ventilators in addition to installing medical stations in the states.
- The resources come after back-and-forth jabs from Trump and the governors in the states, whom he previously urged to try and source supplies independently before the administration would step in.
President Donald Trump announced that the US National Guard had been activated in California, New York, and Washington as the federal government ramps up its response to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Trump said in a Sunday evening press conference that federal authorities were prioritizing “states [that] have been hit the hardest.”
Though nearly 5,500 Air and Army National Guard troops were deployed in 32 states one day earlier, Trump said the Federal Emergency Management Agency would fund the additional National Guard units sent to the states as they provide additional manpower and resources to help state medical facilities address a rise in patients.
The administration stressed that the deployment of guard members is not martial law, but they serve as an additional resource that governors can assign depending on the needs of different communities.
The president also announced the government would provide resources like tens of thousands of masks, gowns, and ventilators in addition to installing medical stations in the states, with four going to New York with 1,000 hospital beds; eight medical stations to California with 2,000 beds; and 1,000 beds in Washington.
Trump also said that The White House is considering releasing elderly and non-violent federal prisoners in order to stem the spread of disease.
“We’re going to take a look at it. It’s a bit of a problem,” Trump said.
The new wave of resources comes after back-and-forth jabs from Trump and the governors in the hard-hit states, as he previously urged them to try and source supplies independently before the administration would step in, which the states criticized as unfair.
“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves,” Trump told the governors during a phone call, The New York Times reported last week. “We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Points of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.”
Trump’s announcement stood in contrast to the Senate vote later Sunday evening that failed to pass a $1.6 trillion emergency rescue package to provide support for workers and businesses in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. Senate Democrats held out on the 60 votes needed for it to progress, the failure of which signals mounting pressure on Congress to address the already sliding financial markets.
As of Sunday evening, the US had 33,420 confirmed cases of the virus that had been found in all 50 states. Leaders around the world tightened restrictions to respond to the virus’s progress over the weekend when it was marked as infecting more than 331,000 and killing more than 14,000.
As reported by Business Insider