President Trump today announced he has activated the National Guard for three hard-hit states, and Ohio and Louisiana today became the latest states to issue mandatory shelter-in-place orders, as the number of COVID-19 infections in the United States soared past 33,000.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of infections and exposures have been reported in lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic. And surges continue in western Europe, with disease activity picking up pace in some African countries, lifting the global total today to 335,957 in 171 countries, 14,632 of them fatal, according to the Johns Hopkins online dashboard.
The United States, with 33,276 infections, now has the third most COVID-19 cases in the world, behind China and Italy.
National Guard activated
At a briefing this evening, Trump said the National Guard will be deployed to New York, California, and Washington state to help with their response to the pandemic coronavirus, adding that the action will be funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
He also said supplies, including gloves, beds, N95 respirators, and gowns will be delivered from the federal stockpile within the next 48 hours. According to an ABC News report, Trump said the National Guard in the three states will be under local control, with federal funding.
Trump also said FEMA will provide four 1,000-bed medical stations to New York, eight 2,000-bed medical stations to California, and three 1,000-bed medical stations for Washington, CNN reported.