Trump puts onus on states to secure scarce medical equipment

President Trump said much of the responsibility to secure enough ventilators, masks and tests lies with governors rather than the federal government, as he delivered a press conference alongside members of the Coronavirus Task Force Thursday. Mr. Trump has enabled the Defense Production Act, but says he won't implement it until he needs to, despite criticism that production of might be able to help treat the virus, but added the caveat that it might not work. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said they're looking at a broader clinical trial to assess how the drug might work on coronavirus patients.

"We are looking at everything that comes across our desks as possible treatments for the coronavirus," Hahn said.

The president emphasized Thursday that the virus might have been stopped if China had done more to contain it. The president added it's "too bad," because the economy was stronger than ever before.

Mr. Trump has signed a coronavirus bill that provides free testing, expanded funding for food security programs and paid sick, family and medical leave for workers at companies with 500 employees or fewer.

Stocks nosedived on Wednesday following the fourth trading halt in two weeks, with Wall Street spooked by the deepening economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

"It's not a financial war, it's a war — it's a medical war," the president said Thursday.

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