President Trump, moving with haste to slow the spread of the coronavirus, is preparing a plan to mobilize the National Guard to help enforce a two-week quarantine of the public if his tough-love efforts so far fail.
The unprecedented action would require everyone to “stay at home,” according to a source knowledgeable of the evolving plan.
The effort, which is still being mulled and wouldn’t be announced until early next week if needed, would urge that all businesses, except grocery stores and pharmacies, be closed.
It comes on the heels of other insider reports that the president is considering grounding all U.S. passenger flights to force a halt in people interacting and moving around the country.
Senior officials have said that dozens of radical ideas are being considered and that the president and his virus task force are moving quickly to protect the nation.
Trump has praised the public for following the rules he has put in place, but the new plans are an acknowledgment that many people are not taking the warnings seriously.
In some areas, the National Guard has already been called out to enforce “stay in place” orders, a model of what Trump is considering.