We've removed some and the rest are being removed with the cooperation of the Peruvian government.

And we're also dealing with Honduras on getting some people out.

The gut caught up, and we are working on that very well again with the Honduran governments work there working with us.

So I appreciate that we have a couple of other locations that will report to you.

We were able to get a young woman released from a certain area who was being horribly accosted, horribly treated on.

Uh, we spoke to General Milley.

General Milley took care of it.

We went in, we got her out and will we'll report further on that one.

But it's, uh that was rough stuff I want.

Thank General Milley.

I want to thank all of the people that were were involved in the people that went in together.

I want to thank you very much as we continue to marshal every resource at America's disposal in the fight against the Chinese virus.

We're profoundly grateful to our nation, state and local leaders, doctors nurses, law enforcement and first responders who are waging this battle on the ground.

It is absolutely critical that Americans continue to follow the federal government's guidelines so important about social distancing, non essential travel and hand washing.

Defeating this unseen enemy requires the help in commitment of every single American.

I wantto I just say that, uh, Senator Rand Paul, a friend of mine, has been a great friend of mine.

He's been always there when we needed him when the country needed him.

And, as you know, he just tested positive.

Jose Diaz Balart spoke to him yesterday, tested positive, and, uh, some people are.

They're getting quite close to home, and it's a terrible thing that's going on the hidden Enemy.

I call it the Hidden Enemy, and I think they'll all be fine.

I hope they're gonna be fine, but I just want to send our regards, and I think I can speak on behalf of our country.

To those two great friends of mine who were working urgently with Congress on legislation to support the millions of workers, small businesses and industries have been hit hard by the virus through no fault of their own Our goal is to get relief two Americans as quickly as possible so that families can get by and small businesses can keep workers on the payroll.

This will help our economy, and you will see our economy skyrocket.

Once this is over, I think it's going to skyrocket.

It's a pent up demand.

It's a built up demand.

And I guess you really have to say who knows?

But I think it's gonna be a tremendous day.

When we win this war, we will win the war we want to win.

The war was with his few F If you look at it, just deaths as possible, We wanna have this view, the number of deaths as possible.

Today I'm announcing action to help New York, California and Washington ensure that the National Guard guard can effectively respond to this crisis.

The National Guard, these air, tremendous people.

They're fully on alert.

We've signed what we had to sign and it's been activated.

We're dealing also with other states.

The states have been hit the hardest, actually, pretty much by far.

You could say the hardest.

Everybody could see that.

Just look at the numbers and through FEMA, the federal government will be funding 100% of the cost of deploying National Guard units to carry out approved missions to stop the virus.

Well, those governors remain in command.

So the governor's locally.

You're going to be in command and will be following them, and we hope they could do the job.

And I think they will.

I spoke with all three of the governor's today and just a little while ago.

They're very happy with what we're going to be doing, because we will be announcing some other things for those three states and Cem other states where it's, uh, hit the hardest.

This action will give them maximum flexibility to use the guard against the virus without having to worry about cost.

Your liability and freeing up state resource is to protect the health and safety of the people in their state.

The federal government has deployed hundreds of tons of supplies from our national stockpile toe locations with the greatest need.

In order to assist in those areas.

I approved the state of New York's request for a major disaster declaration, something which Governor Cuomo has been asking for, in which I agree and we had it done in very rapid fashion.

The We approved this on Friday evening and we're working very, very hard to get all of these things not only signed up but completed and finished in win.

The request from the state of Washington for a major disaster declaration was approved just a little while ago.

Went through the process and we moved it very quickly.

The request from the state of California was just received, and we will have it approved very quickly.

We'll be working.

I told that to Gavin Newsom, and we are.

We're working on getting that done very quickly.

It'll be done.

Maybe tonight.

We've large.

We have large quantities of medical equipment and supplies on the way based on all of this to those states, including respirator, surgical masks and gowns, face shields, cover alls and loves with large quantities already delivered to Washington and to New York.

In addition, a large quantities of supplies.

I've also directed FEMA to supply the following four large federal medical stations with 1000 beds for New York, eight large federal medical stations with 2000 beds for California and three large federal medical stations, and four small federal medical stations with 1000 beds for the state of Washington governors?

No.

The supplies in route to California and New York will be delivered within the next 48 hours.

In addition, the Naval Hospital ship, the U.

S.

And S mercy Incredible Ship sees two ships are incredible.

One of the West Coast one of these coast will be deployed to Los Angeles to add emergencies, surge medical capacity and they have a tremendous capacity.

They are really something.

Uh, I will say that if you look at some of the things we've been doing and now those numbers have gone up and just to be a little bit more exacting, we've done a presidential approval for requests for major disaster declaration for the State of New York approval of Title 32 National Guard activation for the state of New York.

We're providing all of this at no cost to the governor.

I spoke with Governor Cuomo.

He's working hard, were working hard together.

The relationship has really been amazing, but it also enables the governor to provide robust National Guard support to the state and the 25% we're going to be waving that 25% cost we're picking up will be coordinating, and they'll be doing something with very special people.

Mission assignment of the U.

S.

Army Corps of Engineers to provide support to build out alternate care sites.

They're doing various alternate care sites which have now been designated by New York.

Four large federal medical stations of 1000 beds is a very, um, complex places actually with great equipment and, uh, great people Strategic National Stockpile order.

And this is, as of a number of days ago so far delivered to New York.

And this is the 19th we had the n 95 respirators.

186,416 delivered.

We've delivered 444,000 0 78 surgical masks.

Many have been delivered since then.

Face shields.

We've delivered 84,560 face shields surgery godowns surgical gowns, 9 68,044 to New York cover alls 352 gloves 4 245,086 Also, uh, to New York.

In terms of what's been delivered just since then, the numbers air quite large and We have tremendous numbers of companies also making equipment.

Uh, for the state of Washington, we've delivered 369,000 and 95 respirators.

507,406 surgical masks.

This is as off, um, about three days ago.

Face shield 63,788.

Face shields, surgical gowns.

107,000 8 50 Gloves 240,003.

76.

And we have many, many things pending.

It's actually not pending.

It's being there, being fabricated, that being made.

And they're moving now for Washington.

So we have four small federal medical stations, 250 bits.

And for, uh, Washington State of Washington, we have three large federal medical station 750 beds.

And then you have, as I said, the approval of the title 32 National Guard, State of California.

Again, to be very precise.

We're going to have the approval of the title.

32 National Guard activation.

We're providing all of this again, like in New York, at no cost to the governor, meaning Governor Newsome and state no cost to the state.

It enables the government to provide robust National Guard support to the state.

So they're gonna have control of the National Guard federal government sending these air incredible people that are being sent.

We have eight large federal medical stations with over 2000 beds, and that's going to California and then strategic National stack pile order.

We've ordered likewise, uh, hundreds of thousands of different items won't go into the exact numbers, but the numbers of there is substantial, but we're having tremendous additional number sent on whatever the states can get.

They should be getting.

I say we're sort of a backup for the States, and, uh, some of the states are doing really well, and some don't do as well.

The ones that don't do as well need more help.

But these are three states that really do need help because they are.

They are hit very hard.

And the outpouring from the private sector has also been extraordinary and pleased to report that Honeywell Great Company has just announced it will immediately expand its personal protective equipment manufacturing operations in Rhode Island to produce millions of additional and 95 mass Avery hard to get.

They're actually quite complex for the U.

S.

Government strategic national stockpile.

They'll be immediately then delivered to the various states.

This expansion is already underway, and it's going to provide a lot of jobs for that state, probably around 500.

The masks will be distributed by the government for the use of the health, safety and emergency.

And this for response workers, primarily for response workers, is a very high end.

This expansion is in addition to Honeywell's action to more than double production of its existing personal protective equipment manufacturing plants and make a lot of different things, and they're doubling and tripling their production.

They're going around the clock today.

I'm also announcing the launch of a new public private consortium organized by the White House, the Department of Energy and IBM to unleash the power of American supercomputing.

Resource is to fight the Chinese virus.

The following leaders from private industries, academia and government will be contributing, and they're gonna be contributing a lot of different things.

But computed primarily computing resource is to help researchers discover new treatments and vaccines they'll be working along with and I h and all of the people that are working on this but tremendous help from IBM, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, M I.

T.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Department of Energy's National Labor Laboratories, the National Science Foundation and NASA.

They're all contributing to this effort, and they're fully in gear this afternoon.

I also want to update you on the steps were taken to protect and serve our country's 18 million veterans is a great people are amazing.

Veterans have shown their eternal loyalty to our nation, and this is the time we're there in need and we're going to show our loyalty to them.

We're being very protective of our veterans.

We're working on certain hospitals where we may be doing Cem work in Louisiana in particular, and some other states veterans Hospitals will be very protective of our veterans.

Some of them are of that very vulnerable age, and some of them, obviously you're not feeling well, and some of them are still suffering the wounds of war.

For many years ago yesterday, I signed vital legislation to ensure that the G I bill will cover distance learning.

During this emergency.

I also spoke with many of our veterans service organizations or the Via Zoe's to describe are unprecedented action in February, the Department of Veterans Affairs established 19 emergency operation centers throughout the country.

Huh?

One of the things that they've been trying to get done for many years.

You all know this from following me over the last number of years, but we got it done pretty quickly.

They've been trying to get it done for many, many decades.

Was choice veterans Choice and also veterans accountability.

Now, if it's crowded within this, if they can't get to a doctor, we have great doctors in the V.

I have to say that we have fantastic doctors as good as they come.

But it's hard to get to him because off what was bureaucracy but no longer bureaucracy.

We've done a lot of things in that case because of accountability, when people aren't doing their jobs or if they're bad or if they're sadistic or if they steal or anything bad happens, we're now allowed to fire them for.

I signed that a year and 1/2 ago.

For many years you weren't able to do that.

So the A is working, and I was just told by great uh, leader at the Robert Robert Wilkie.

Uh, he said, for the first time we get the highest marks in the history.

Highest poll numbers in the history of the Veterans Administration came out a week ago that, uh, they're happy.

And look, one of the reasons that happened highest in history.

One of the reasons that happened because of veterans choice.

If they have to wait on line, they go and see a private doctor.

We pay the bill and, uh and they get better.

They don't have to wait two weeks and three weeks or two days, but they get better.

And a lot of times they waited so long that they would they would have a problem and it would end up being terminal because they couldn't get kind of treatment that they deserve.

So, uh, highest poll numbers, highest approval numbers in the history of the V.

A.

I was just given that information.

Yesterday we restricted visitors access to 135 veteran community living centers, which has nearly 8000 veterans with chronic medical conditions, so that we limit their exposure to the virus.

We wantto totally take care of our veterans, and that's what we're doing.

The VA is canceled.

Most elective medical and surgical procedures that delaying them till uh, after this is gone.