U.S. starts enhanced measures to disrupt illegal drugs supply: coronavirus briefing

The U.S. is deploying military resources to prevent drug traffickers from taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic for their own gain,  President Trump said at the coronavirus task force briefing.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the Department of Defense is starting enhanced narcotics operations to further disrupt the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S., including the movement of ships and surveillance aircraft to Southern Command.

We must “remain vigilant to many other threats” to the country while we’re combating the virus, Esper said.

Update 5:56 PM ET: When asked about whether China under-reported its cases of COVID-19, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said there’s no way to confirm the numbers from China.

5:58 PM: “The relationship is very good” with China and President Xi, Trump said. China’s numbers, though, seem to be “on the light side,” he said.

6:02 PM: Trump said the U.S. just ordered a lot of hospital gowns from Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and wants Walmart to ship them directly to where they’re needed.

6:10 PM: “There’s a narrative” that the U.S. military would have to shut down to deal with the coronavirus, Esper said. That’s not going to happen, he said. “We have a mission to protect the United States and its people.”

6:12 PM: “I think we have 11 companies making ventilators right now,” Trump said.

6:15 PM: The administration is looking “very seriously” at building two new hospital ships, or possibly renovating an existing vessel into a hospital ship, Trump said.

In the U.S., there are 206,207 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,542 deaths,according to Johns Hopkins University ; globally, there are 921,924 cases of COVID-19 confirmed and 46,252 deaths.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3557637-u-s-starts-enhanced-measures-to-disrupt-supply-of-illegal-drugs-coronavirus-briefing