With the earliest cases and arguably the best flatten-the-curve responses in the U.S., Washington state and California are returning excess ventilators to the national stockpile, President Donald Trump reported Tuesday.
There are now 8,675 ventilators ready in the national stockpile to be deployed "from place to place wherever the monster hits; it's a monster," Trump told the daily briefing Tuesday.
Trump also announced the United Kingdom has requested 200 ventilators and the coronavirus task force is working to accommodate that request – a far cry from the fears in some states there would not be enough ventilators in the U.S. to save American lives.
"We're gonna work it out," Trump said. "We gotta work it out; they've been great partners.
"They needed them desperately."
Trump announced a timetable for shipments of newly built ventilators in the works, totaling 110,000 ventilators delivered by June 29.
Trump hopes they won't be needed and can be used to replenish the national stockpile for future pandemics.
"We are actually getting some ventilators back," Trump said. "The state of California was great. They sent some back that they won't need, and Washington state likewise. And we have some others coming back, so we're using them where we need them."
Trump and the task force have been adamant to keep the national stockpile flexible to deploy supplies where they are needed in an emergency.
New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo has sought to stockpile his own ventilators in his state – albeit the epicenter of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S.
"I will protect you if your governor fails," Trump vowed.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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