Coronavirus: Donald Trump pushes for more ventilators, invoking Defence Production Act as states continue to raise alarm
- US president signs executive order to ensure General Electric, Medtronic, Resmed and other firms receive needed supplies to manufacture life-saving machines
- State officials are concerned that supplies are inadequate for coronavirus patients, as US reports more than 230,000 infections
US President Donald Trump issued an order under the Defence Production Act to speed production of ventilators after state officials raised alarms that supplies are inadequate for the growing number of coronavirus patients.
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure General Electric, Hill-Rom Holdings, Medtronic, ResMed, Royal Philips and Vyaire Medical obtain needed supplies.
The order does not name the suppliers to companies manufacturing ventilators.
Trump said in a statement that the order would “more fully ensure that domestic manufacturers can produce ventilators needed to save American lives”.
The president is facing mounting pressure from governors and congressional Democrats to use the Korean war-era law that gives him sweeping powers to force companies to produce personal protective equipment and ventilators that are in short supply.