Whitmer Criticizes Trump For Not Sending Masks To Every U.S. Home

MICHIGAN — Wayne County was set to be one of the first communities across the U.S. to receive five face masks from the federal government before the White House reportedly nixed the plan.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer criticized the administration of President Donald Trump Friday after learning of the reports, which, according to The Washington Post, came to light following the release of nearly 10,000 pages of emails, memos and other private documents.

“This new revelation is just further proof that the president has failed to take this crisis seriously from the beginning, despite knowing how dangerous and deadly COVID-19 is," Whitmer said in a joint statement with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. "At a time when COVID-19 was ravaging our states and preying on our most vulnerable communities, especially seniors and people of color, the president had an opportunity to take quick, decisive action that could have saved thousands of lives, but chose not to.

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"The Trump Administration struck down a plan that could have saved countless lives in the midst of our battle with this virus, during a period when governors across the country were working around the clock to secure PPE, build adequate hospital and ICU capacity, safeguard seniors in nursing homes, and save lives," the statement continues. "As we continue to face the biggest public health emergency of our lifetime, we may never know the number of lives that could have been saved if the national mask plan had touched every person in the country."

The documents show that some officials hoped to use the USPS network to help Americans get personal protective equipment with a plan to send a pack of five reusable face masks to every residential address in the U.S.

The hardest-hit areas in the nation would be shipped to first, The Washington Post reported, citing the documents. Wayne County was among those, along with the Orleans and Jefferson parishes in Louisiana, King County, Washington, and New York.

More than 18,000 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Wayne County as of Friday morning, according to the county health department. Over 1,200 Wayne County residents have died from the virus.

But the plan was scrapped by the White House, The Washington Post reported, citing senior administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“There was concern from some in the White House Domestic Policy Council and the office of the vice president that households receiving masks might create concern or panic,” an administrative official told The Washington Post.

"With nearly 200,000 lives lost and rising, we can’t afford to wait," Whitmer and Inslee added in their statement. "Once again, we call on President Trump to do the right thing and develop a national strategy, including a nationwide mask mandate, so we can protect our families, our frontline workers, our educators, and our small businesses. It’s time for him to start treating this as the crisis he has known it to be from the very beginning.”

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