US President Donald Trump has ordered General Motors to make ventilators hours after criticizing the car giant’s chief executive for not acting quickly enough to produce the devices amid the coronavirus pandemic.
He invoked the Korean War-era Defense Production Act, which allows a president to force companies to make products for national defence.
Trump had earlier criticised the company, saying “GM was wasting time” and action was needed to save American lives.
The total number of coronavirus cases now has crossed 100,000, the highest in the world. With nearly 1,700 fatalities, America’s Covid-19 death toll still lags far behind Italy and China.
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Trump, in a statement from the White House, said the action “will help ensure the quick production of ventilators that will save American lives.”
“Our negotiations with GM regarding its ability to supply ventilators have been productive, but our fight against the virus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the contracting process to continue to run its normal course,” he said.
On the other hand, the global death toll rose to 27,364 on Saturday, with the highest number of deaths in Italy, according to John Hopkins. The number of infected people in the world rose to 597,072 around the world.
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