Katherine BiekThe Ford Motor Co. is on track to start building ventilators at one of its facilities in Michigan on Monday.
Ford announced in late March it was partnering with General Electric Healthcare to make 50,000 ventilators for coronavirus patients in just 100 days.
Since then, Ford's been retrofitting its plant to make it safe for employees to work in. An executive told NPR that individual stations are now set up so workers can be shielded from each other. Employees will also have their temperatures checked when they clock in and they'll be required to wear face masks on site.
Ford expects to have all 50,000 ventilators built by July 4. It's one of multiple companies the Trump administration has contracted to produce ventilators under the Defense Production Act.
In total, the Department of Health and Human Services says the U.S. government will have acquired more than 41,000 ventilators by the end of May, and more than 187,000 of the machines by the end of 2020.
Contains footage from CNN.
