US deploying 5,500 National Guard troops to combat covid-19

The United States has deployed 5,500 National Guard troops to battle the coronavirus outbreak across the country.

“National Guard members work and live in every community across the nation and have a proven track record of success supporting civilian authorities after homeland emergencies,” the National Guard told the Hill on Saturday, adding that figures could “change rapidly as states identify needs.”

The deployment is meant to support healthcare professionals as US states grapple with the fast growing pandemic.

National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Joseph Lengyel told reporters that US President Donald Trump could federalize the National Guard, yet asserting that it “would not make sense in this situation.”

“Every state has a different way to deal with disasters. If you were to federalize [the Guard], you would lose that ability,” he said.

Trump has slammed criticism directed towards his administration over the slow response to the covid-19 outbreak.

According to a Washington Post report, the White House ignored early warnings from the intelligence community. 

“I think the Washington Post covers us very inaccurately,” Trump said when asked about the report. “I saw the story, I think it’s a disgrace. But, it’s the Washington Post, and I guess we have to live with it. It’s a very inaccurate story.”

The president further threw accusations at China over the spread of the virus, defending his decision to ban travel to China.

“From many people I get a lot of credit for closing our country very early to a very heavily infected country — China, unfortunately,” he said. “I wish China would have told us more about what was going on [in] China long prior to us reading about it, even though the news isn’t exactly disseminated… As you know, China kicked the Washington Post out and they kicked the New York Times out.”

China has taken extreme measures to control the pandemic. The country reported no new local cases of the virus on Wednesday.

The US Senate is racing against time to forge an agreement on a bill aimed at stemming the economic fallout from the outbreak. 

Republican and Democratic lawmakers are working behind closed doors to reach a deal and to draft formal legislation by the end of the day.

The $1.4-trillion bill is aimed at helping individuals, small businesses and industries hard hit by the public health crisis.

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnel says they are close to an agreement. He intends to hold a vote on the package on Monday.

MG