The automaker General Motors will manufacture respirators to deal with the coronavirus health crisis. President Donald Trump requisitioned his services on the grounds of the Defense Production Act. Enacted during the Korean War, this law allows the federal government to mobilize the private industrial sector for the security of the country.
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The need for respiratory ventilation devices in the United States, as elsewhere, is enormous. These help save people with respiratory problems, one of the serious symptoms of coronavirus.
Trump calls for reopening "stupidly abandoned" factory
Earlier in the day, Donald Trump had bluntly expressed his exasperation at General Motors. "General Motors MUST immediately open its stupidly abandoned Lordstown, Ohio, or other factory, and START PRODUCING RESPIRATORS NOW !!!!!! ", he tweeted.
General Motors MUST immediately open their stupidly abandoned Lordstown plant in Ohio, or some other plant, and START MAKING VENTILATORS, NOW !!!!!! FORD, GET GOING ON VENTILATORS, FAST !!!!!! @ GeneralMotors @ Ford
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 27, 2020These respirators will be manufactured at the General Motors plant in Kokomo, Indiana, said the automaker, which will also produce masks for doctors at its factory in Warren (Michigan).
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To try to silence any controversy and respond to presidential criticism, GM has assured that it would not make a profit on this production and that it would be satisfied with the reimbursement of its costs. The manufacturer has not specified how many masks can be delivered. Donald Trump says he expects 40,000.
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New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has been calling on the White House for several days to provide him with urgently needed respirators to deal with the peak of the epidemic, which he says will take place in three weeks. General Motors has announced, however, that they are unlikely to be delivered for a month.