The plan continued: “State and local governments, as well as critical infrastructure and communications channels, will be stressed and potentially less reliable. After weeks of playing down the seriousness of the pandemic, saying it would miraculously disappear, Mr. Trump began shifting to a more sober tone during a news conference on Friday announcing the national emergency. Much of the plan is bureaucratic in nature, describing coordination among agencies and actions that in some cases have already been taken, like urging schools to close and large events to be canceled. But its discussion of the Defense Production Act came as lawmakers and others urged Mr. Trump to invoke its powers. We know what the demands of this time are, and we must act now to meet these demands.”

Source: New York Times March 17, 2020 23:48 UTC