Coronavirus Latest: Gov. Hogan Critical Of Trump Administration, FEMA's Lack Of Coordination On COVID-19 Tests, Supplies
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WJZ) -- Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan asked for the federal governments help coordination efforts to combat coronavirus -- by supplying more tests to states, coordinating access to supplies and more in an op-ed he co-wrote in The Washington Post Monday.
The Republican governor co-wrote the piece with Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In it, they say the federal government needs to better coordinate how to get states the testing supplies they need.
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"While states are doing all we can to secure access to these items, the federal government must take extraordinary steps to deliver what we need," they wrote. "The Trump administration can start by more widely implementing the Defense Production Act to direct companies to produce ventilators and protective gear for medical workers."
They also said FEMA needs to do a better job coordinating the distribution of supplies.
"Right now, there is no single authority tracking where every spare ventilator is or where there are shortages," they wrote. "The lack of any centralized coordination is creating a counterproductive competition between states and the federal government to secure limited supplies, driving up prices and exacerbating existing shortages."
Read more of the op-ed here.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.