Foreign media: shortage of domestic supplies, US freezes overseas aid for personal protective equipment

Chinanews.com, April 2. According to US media reports, a few days ago, U.S. officials said that the U.S. government is reviewing all personal protective equipment (PPE) shipped abroad by the International Development Agency (USAID) to ensure that the United States will not send domestic resistance overseas. Supplies needed for the epidemic. The government has also suspended overseas shipments of the International Development Agency's protective equipment and has demanded that such equipment be shipped to the United States instead.

On the evening of February 26 local time, US President Trump held a press conference at the White House and announced that Vice President Pence will lead the US government's response to the new crown pneumonia epidemic. Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Mengtong

According to the US political news website Politico, the New Crown Epidemic Task Force headed by U.S. Vice President Pence is reviewing all of the International Development Agency's personal protective equipment shipped abroad to ensure that the United States will not send overseas supplies needed for domestic epidemic prevention.

An official said that the US government has suspended overseas shipments of the International Development Agency's protective equipment and demanded that the equipment be re-routed to the United States.

Officials close to the International Development Agency say the ongoing review is more of a hold because the Working Group is reviewing the state's procurement of supplies and asking aid officials to remind them if there are other similar supplies in transit in. It is reported that the review process has effectively frozen the approved international assistance for personal protective equipment related to the new crown epidemic.

Another official familiar with the review process said: "Our idea is to find the shortage of products and compare them with USAID's overseas supplies." He said that given the outbreak in the United States and the shortage of key medical supplies, it is currently very It is difficult to send required items abroad.

Before making a review decision, US officials reportedly discovered that the protective items they planned to ask Thai authorities for help appeared in items sent by the United States to Thailand.