Trump invokes Defence Production Act to prevent export of N95 masks, PPEs

Speaking from the White House at the Coronavirus taskforce press Briefing, President Donald Trump on Friday said that he is invoking the Defense Production Act to prevent the export of N95 respirators, surgical masks, glove and other personal protective equipment (PPE) used in coronavirus treatment.

The directive is "to prohibit the export of scarce health and medical supplies by unscrupulous actors and profiteers."

He said that the Homeland Security Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will work jointly on this directive.

"We need these items immediately for domestic use. We have to have them," Trump added.

Also on Friday, After weeks of insisting that Americans don't have to wear face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus, President Trump on Friday (local time) announced new guidelines as issued by CDC advising the use of "non-medical cloth-based" face coverings.

 

The US coronavirus death toll reached 7,077 on Friday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The increase of 1,094 deaths today is the most number of deaths in a single day. The total number of cases in the US as on Friday stands at 273,880.