“We’ve signed what we have to sign, and it’s been activated,” Trump said at a press conference Sunday night.
The president added that the move would enable the states access to the National Guard without worrying about cost: The feds will pick up the tab. The three states in question have been hit the hardest by the COVID-19, the contagious respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. As of Sunday, New York has more than 15,000 confirmed cases, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. That’s about half of all confirmed U.S. cases.
“This is not martial law,” said FEMA chief Pete Gaynor, who also emphasized the governors would remain in control.
Trump’s also still excited about an untested treatment for the coronavirus. He’s pushed the idea that chloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, might cure COVID-19. And now he’s sending it to New York State.
“It’s been a strong, powerful drug for malaria,” Trump said. “We’ve gotten them the drug, I think they’re going to start the process of giving the drug, through mouth, on Tuesday.”
The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said last week there’s been no clinical testing of the drug as a cure for COVID-19, and that any evidence it could be useful is “anecdotal.”
In addition to mobilizing the National Guard, Trump also said he would dispatch the Army Corps of Engineers to help with the construction of temporary hospitals, which the president has been slow to do. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked for the Corps to be deployed over a week ago.
