World leaders step up emergency response against COVID-19

World leaders labeled the COVID-19 pandemic a crisis on a scale of World War ll and started stepping up their emergency response.

During a news briefing on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump described himself as “wartime president,” and invoked the Defense Production Act to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Under the law, the U.S. president can request private companies to make needed supplies in a time of national crisis. The law provides grounds to increase the production of medical equipment, such as face masks and ventilators to respond to the coronavirus.

European governments are already acting like a wartime government, ordering people to stay home, closing schools, stores, and borders, and deploying military forces. “The situation is serious, Since German unification, no, since the Second World War, there has been no challenge to our nation that has demanded such a degree of common and united action,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, addressing the nation in a TV broadcast on Wednesday.

The UK government is also considering a lockdown in London from Saturday, the Financial Times reported. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked about 60 manufacturers, including Rolls Royce and Ford, which have production bases in the country, to help step up the production of vital medical equipment, such as ventilators. Meantime, French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the country is “at war” six times while outlawing all journeys outside the home.


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