A federal plan to tackle the coronavirus, seen by The New York Times, warned that the pandemic "will last 18 months or longer" and could include "multiple waves" as it spreads.

The plan reportedly predicts shortages "impacting health care, emergency services, and other elements of critical infrastructure."

The Times said the plan recommended ways to curb the coronavirus' spread, including closing schools and canceling events, and also urged President Donald Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act.

The Defense Production Act is a federal law that authorizes the president to "expedite and expand the supply of resources from the US industrial base to support military, energy, space, and homeland security programs."

Trump addressed evoking the DPA on Tuesday, telling reporters: "We're able to do that if we have to ... Right now, we haven't had to, but it's certainly ready."

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A federal plan to tackle the COVID-19 coronavirus warned that the pandemic "will last 18 months or longer" and could include "multiple waves" as it continues to spread, according to The New York Times.

The 100-page plan, seen by The Times, was released Friday and was marked "For Official Use Only // Not For Public Distribution or Release."

"Shortages of products may occur, impacting health care, emergency services, and other elements of critical infrastructure," the plan reportedly said, noting this could include "potentially critical shortages" of diagnostic capabilities, medical supplies, including personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals, and staffing in some locations.

It added that state and local governments, along with their critical infrastructure and communication channels, "will be stressed and potentially less reliable," The Times said.

"These stresses may also increase the challenges of getting updated messages and coordinating guidance to these jurisdictions directly," the plan states, according to The Times.

The plan reportedly laid out recommendations for how to curb the coronavirus' spread, including closing schools and canceling events, steps that many states and local governments have already taken.

It also urged the president to invoke the Defense Production Act, a federal law enacted in response to start of the Korean War that authorizes the president to "expedite and expand the supply of resources from the US industrial base to support military, energy, space, and homeland security programs."

Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey urged President Donald Trump on Tuesday to invoke the DPA to "enable the federal government to step up and take the type of aggressive steps needed in this time of uncertainty."

Trump addressed talks of evoking the DPA on Tuesday, telling reporters: "We're able to do that if we have to ... Right now, we haven't had to, but it's certainly ready."

The coronavirus has spread to more than 140 countries and had killed more than 7,900 people as of Tuesday evening. The US has reported more than 6,400 cases, including 111 deaths, across all 50 states and several territories.

Trump declared a national emergency Friday after weeks of downplaying the severity of the virus. On Monday he said Americans should "avoid gathering in groups of more than 10 people" as part of measures to encourage social distancing.

Though much is still unknown about the novel coronavirus, experts have urged measures to try to keep the US healthcare system from being overwhelmed by an influx of COVID-19 cases.

Modeling from The Australian National University released earlier this month also predicts that the US could see a gross-domestic-product loss of up to $1.7 trillion in 2020 in the worst-case scenario.

"Even in the best-case scenario of a low-severity impact, the economic fallout is going to be enormous and countries need to work together to limit the potential damage as much as possible," Warwick McKibbin, the study's author, wrote.