The measure is meant to allow the US government to speed production of masks, respirators, ventilators and other needed equipment. Trump said he put the measure into action on Thursday evening. "I invoked the Defence Production Act, and last night, we put it into gear," Trump said. The president "is currently using it to drive the private-sector’s response to this crisis," said a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "And the private-sector's response, to date, to his direction has been overwhelming, fulfilling government-identified needs faster than anyone thought possible," the official said.

Source: bd News24 March 22, 2020 06:33 UTC