Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., called on President Trump on Sunday to put the Defense Production Act into play and order the emergency production of medical supplies, arguing that the president’s reluctance to do so will “cost lives” as New York quickly becomes the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. “It is absolutely needed,” Ocasio-Cortez said. The president told Schumer he would, then could be heard on the telephone making the order. He yelled to someone in his office to do it now, said Schumer’s spokesman, Justin Goodman. Trump also announced an effective closure of the U.S. border with Mexico, prohibiting most travel except for trade.

Source: Fox News March 22, 2020 17:15 UTC