President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will invoke the Defense Production Act “in case we need it,” a move that would free up the government to help the private sector ramp up production of emergency medical supplies.
Meanwhile, the Senate passed the already House-approved coronavirus relief legislation that includes provisions for coronavirus testing and paid emergency leave. The legislation will now go to Trump to sign.
In addition, the border between the United States and Canada will temporarily close to nonessential traffic, Trump tweeted Wednesday. The call to close the border was a mutual decision by both countries, Trump said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also announced he would close the border to non-Canadian citizens amid the ongoing new coronavirus outbreak, the Associated Press reported.
Also, the governor of California has placed the state’s National Guard troops on alert, and residents in New York City are preparing for a shelter-in-place order.
The U.S. death toll passed 118 as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University, with more than 7,700 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus.
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