Rush still on to get gear for health workers
The scramble for vital gear needed to protect health care workers continues to intensify. Hospitals in Detroit put out a plea for donations of disposable face masks, N95 respirators, eye protection including face shields and safety goggles and other safety equipment. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged President Donald Trump to use the Defense Production Act to compel companies to manufacture much needed masks, gowns and ventilators.
FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor told CNN that a mandate isn’t required because companies are willingly producing the equipment. He said requests are coming in from every state “looking for the exact same things . ... We are trying to make sure we focus our efforts on the hot spots that need it the most.”
– John Bacon
Trump offers North Korea help with COVID-19
President Donald Trump has sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offering to help the secretive, communist nation’s fight against the coronavirus, the White House confirmed Sunday. The letter, which also expresses a desire to improve diplomatic relations, shows the strong “personal relations” between Trump and Kim, said Kim Yo Jong, Kim’s sister and first vice department director of the Central Committee of the North’s Workers’ Party, in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The letter came after North Korea again tested short-range ballistic missiles over the weekend, drawing protests from South Korea. – David Jackson
Tenor Placido Domingo has the virus
Renowned opera singer Placido Domingo said in a Facebook post he has tested positive for the virus.
Domingo, 79, said he and his family have self-isolated in Mexico, and he urged the public to “please follow your local government’s guidelines and regulations for staying safe and protecting not just yourselves but our entire community.”
Domingo is the latest from the sports and entertainment worlds to acknowledge contracting the virus. The list includes actors Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, fellow actor Idris Elba and NBA players Kevin Durant, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
Help for stranded Americans
The State Department has chartered two flights to begin evacuating on Monday hundreds of Americans who are stranded in Guatemala.
Guatemala suspended all air travel except for cargo flights on March 16 in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.
“We do not know when civilian flights will resume in Guatemala after these U.S. government-coordinated charter flights, but urge travelers to continue to check the availability of commercial flight options,” the State Department said.
While the department encourages Americans abroad to travel commercially when possible, the virus has made that more difficult.
On Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters at the White House that the department had established a repatriation task force to help Americans trapped outside the country.
“We’re trying to get Americans back from these places where air travel has been disrupted,” he said. “And we’ll get that done over time. We’ll get it done successfully.” – Curtis Tate Contributing: The Associated Press