President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was considering an executive order to free elderly, nonviolent prisoners from federal prisons in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The virus has been identified as a particular threat to prison populations, where individuals are in close proximity to each other.

Local governments across the country have released thousands of elderly and low-level inmates in an effort to confront the outbreak.

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President Donald Trump said his administration was considering an executive order to free elderly, nonviolent prisoners from federal prisons amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Trump was speaking during a Sunday evening press conference on the federal government’s ongoing response to the pandemic, which has been identified as a particular threat to prison populations, where individuals are in close proximity to each other.

“We have been asked about that and we’re going to take a look at it. It’s a bit of a problem,” Trump said, when asked about the potential order. “We’re talking about totally nonviolent prisoners, we are actually looking at that, yes.”

Trump’s executive order would come after local governments across the country in states like California, New York, and Texas released thousands of elderly and low-level inmates in an effort to confront the outbreak, according to the Wall Street Journal, in addition to ramping up screening of staff, banning visitors, and restricting inmates’ movement within the systems.

Trump also said Sunday that he was activating the US National Guard in California, New York, and Washington. The government would provide resources to those hard-hit states like tens of thousands of masks, gowns, and ventilators in addition to installing medical stations in the states.

The new wave of resources comes after back-and-forth jabs from Trump and the governors in the hard-hit states, as he previously urged them to try and source supplies independently before the administration would step in.

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