- The Trump administration is considering invoking special powers through a law called the Defense Production Act of 1950 to rapidly expand domestic manufacturing of protective masks and clothing to combat the coronavirus.
- "We will have the ability to tell corporations, 'No, you change your production line so it is now 80% of the N95 masks and 20% painter masks," White House sources told Reuters.
- The biggest producers of face masks in the United States include 3M (NYSE:MMM) and Honeywell (NYSE:HON). Shares of Alpha Pro Tech (NYSEMKT:APT), another N-95 maker, has surged over 620% since the beginning of the outbreak.