The Pentagon is looking to provide up to 100,000 body bags for use by civilian authorities as the coronavirus outbreak worsens in the United States with a high death toll expected in coming weeks.
AGENCY WANTS THEM AS SOON AS THEY ARE READY
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has requested 100,000 such bags to the US Department of Defense, a Pentagon official told Reuters on Wednesday. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is working with the current contractor on additional capacity, the official said.
Bloomberg had reported earlier that the Pentagon was looking at buying more body bags and that it will draw some initially from a stockpile of 50,000 that it maintains.
The development comes as the United States is looking at an increasing number of deaths from the coronavirus outbreak, with Reuters’ tally showing more than 4,500 deaths and over 200,000 infections in the country.
President Donald Trump and his top healthcare advisers urged Americans to follow strict social distancing measures ahead of a “tough two weeks” that could see at least 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus.