A 100-page document was issued while Donald Trump announced a state of emergency containing precautions that there could be waves of critical medical shortages, staff, and even equipment. The coronavirus (Covid-19) could last 18 months, which is way too long for the economy, the culture, and other functions to be put on hold.
The Defense Production Act has been activated
The activation of the Defense Production Act includes the forcing of companies to prioritize government contracts for their items, which include ventilators, medicines, testing kits, and also protective gear.
A copy of this document has been seen by New York Times, which includes a warning towards how the state's and local government's resources would then be stretched and less reliable, especially when the crisis is ongoing. These particular stresses may result in an increase of challenges when getting updated messages as well as coordinating guidance.
Additional guidelines have been given by Trump
One thing that President Trump has urged citizens of the United States is to specifically avoid gathering in a group of more than 10 people. This stopped short of a concrete federally-enforced ban. Although individual states have already begun shutting down their schools and universities, Washington has not given any final announcement to do the same.
Trump on invoking the Defense Production Act
Although Trump has tried to avoid invoking the strict Defense Production Act, necessary measures have to be imposed, especially because of the problems with testing while the lack of kits has been blamed.
When Trump was asked whether the Defense Production Act would be applied, he replied, "We're able to do that if we have to. Right now, we haven't had to, but it's certainly ready." Trump then followed with a statement saying, "We'll make that decision pretty quickly if we need it. We hope we don't need it. It's a big step."
The effect of the coronavirus so far
As of recent, the reported amount of infected within the U.S. has already reached 6,500, which has more than doubled compared to the 2,300 cases recently reported on Friday when the plan has issued. So far, there are already 100 deaths, which is also double compared to the 48 deaths reported on Friday.
What is being left out in the plan?
According to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, in a report by Bloomberg, the plan will not address the economic impact which this crisis has caused. In the same statement, he said there might be an economic fallout as a result of the coronavirus, which could be far worse than the 2008 financial crisis.
The economic effect clarification
The Treasury Department spokeswoman gave a clarification later on that Mnuchin was not producing predictions but was only giving examples of the possibilities if action is not taken. "Secretary Mnuchin used several mathematical examples for illustrative purposes, but he never implied this would be the case".
Economists for Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have already said that "We expect the recession to be front-loaded, with a recovery in [the second half of the year]," as an explanation to their clients.
