Military releases 2,000 ventilators, up to 5 million masks for coronavirus response
The military will provide 2,000 ventilators and up to 5 million respirator masks from its strategic reserve to assist the U.S. government’s response to the spread of the coronavirus, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday.
“The first 1 million masks will be made available immediately,” said Esper, who spoke to reporters at the Pentagon. The equipment will be released to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for distribution, he said.
Worldwide demand for respirator masks by the public has raised concerns that there is not enough equipment available to keep doctors, nurses and other first responders safe as they treat patients who may be infected with COVID-19.
The military’s release of the medical equipment from it’s stockpile comes as the White House has suggested the military may also be asked to build field hospitals in areas worst hit by the virus.
Esper said if the military is asked to build field hospitals, he would advise that their best use would be to locate them near existing hospital facilities to absorb and treat non-coronavirus patients.
By building a field hospital next to an existing medical center, if a patient comes in with a non-coronavirus issue, “instead of going into the hospital, they would go into the field hospital, where we could treat the broken legs, the lacerations, the falling down and hitting your head type of stuff,” he told reporters. That would free up space inside the hospital to focus on coronavirus patients, Esper said.
Esper said he has begun to have conversations with some govenors on what support the National Guard or reserve forces could offer. However he cautioned it could take weeks to activate the National Guard and that any activation of forces would have to be balanced by local needs, such as ensuring personnel who serve as civilian doctors or local law enforcement aren’t taken from areas where they are needed.
The 2,000 ventilators represented “what we can offer right now,” Esper said, acknowledging that far more may be needed.
“When you look at the numbers of people who are projected who may need ventilators, 2,000 doesn’t put much of a dent into it. But we can offer what we have,” Esper said.
“The key thing is the private sector, the manufacturing side,” Esper said. “ Because we’re simply not going to be able to meet the demand.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Military releases 2,000 ventilators, up to 5 million masks for coronavirus response."
