PENCE PLEDGES TO “LEAN IN TO” FIGHT AGAINST CORONAVIRUS

» Vice Presi

M AP L EWOOD , MINN . dent Mike Pence pledged Thursday that federal officials would “lean in to” the fight against the new coronavirus as he visited with a leading maker of masks being used to stem the spread of the virus. He asked Americans to refrain from buying masks unless they’re sick.

“You should know we’re ready and we’re going to continue to bring the full resources of the federal government to bear to confront the spread of the coronavirus in the United States,” Pence said after meeting with 3M CEO Mike Roman and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at the company’s global headquarters just outside Minneapolis.

“I do have a word to the average American about how you can help as well,” Pence said. “Unless you are ill, you have no need to buy a mask.”

U.S. labs await virus-testing kits promised by administration. ON» Trump administration

WASHING T officials doubled down on their promise to deliver 1 million tests for the coronavirus this week as states reported limited testing supplies and federal lawmakers expressed doubts about the government’s timeline.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Thursday that a private manufacturer authorized to make the tests expects to ship the kits to U.S. laboratories by week’s end. That amounts to the capacity to test approximately 400,000 people, given that it takes multiple test samples to a confirm a result.

The test kits from Iowa-based Integrated DNA Technologies are one part of the government’s effort to ramp up testing. But the U.S. has trailed other countries in rolling out tests, because of problems with its test kits and because the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initially limited the number of eligible people.

Esper says military operations will continue operations.

WAS HON» The U.S. military and ING T its warfighting command centers in the Pentagon are prepared to continue operations even if there is a local outbreak of the new coronavirus, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday, as the department began finalizing its response plans.

Although only one soldier and a handful of family members and Defense Department civilians have so far tested positive, tens of thousands of troops are in countries and regions that have been hit hardest, including South Korea and portions of Europe.

The nation’s more than

2.1 million active duty, Guard and Reserve forces are spread all around the globe. And they are one of the nation’s last lines of defense against any outside threats or disasters during an outbreak, as well as a force that could be used as a last-resort to maintain order or enforce quarantines within the U.S. in the case of a pandemic.

“Our national military command center has the capability to go for weeks at a time if they have to be locked down inside the building if we have some type of outbreak,” Esper said.

New Mexico shifts focus to seniors. FE» State health

SA N TA officials say they are placing a new focus on safeguarding the state’s seniors from potential transmission of the virus.

The state has no known infections. Testing started this week for people with an elevated risk of infection because of travel and other factors.

Health Department spokesman David Morgan said the first two tests were negative.

“We are now specifically identifying our elderly population as a vulnerable group,” Morgan said.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department has awarded an initial $500,000 to the state for enhancing testing and surveillance. State officials are awaiting guidance from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how best to allocate those funds.