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Asked by Karl what actions the administration is taking to ensure elections are able to be protected amid the coronavirus outbreak, Trump said it's very simple: \"we’re getting rid of the virus.\"

\"What I am doing, Jon, is very simple, we’re getting rid of the virus,\" Trump said. That's the only thing we can do. For the markets, for everything, it’s very simple, simple solution, we want to get rid of it,\" Trump said. \"The best thing we can do is get rid of the virus. Once that’s gone it’s going to pop back like nobody has ever seen before that's my opinion. I think it will pop back like nobody has seen before.\"

Trump says FDA allowing states to approve tests

Trump began the news conference by saying the FDA has made a regulatory change to give states the ability to approve tests developed in laboratories in the states.

\"All states can now authorize tests developed and used within their borders in addition to the FDA,\" Trump said. \"The states are very much involved -- they have been involved from the beginning -- but we’re stepping it up as much as we can, and the testing procedures are going well.\"

\"Today we’re also announcing a dramatic expansion of our Medicare tele-health services,\" saying they will not enforce penalties on doctors either. \"Medicare patients can now visit any doctor by phone or video conference at no additional cost, including with commonly-used services like Facetime and Skype.\"

Pentagon to provide respirators and ventilators

Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced that the Pentagon will provide civilian health authorities with 5 million respirator masks and 2,000 specialized ventilators in response to the pandemic.

Esper told reporters in an afternoon briefing that the ventilators are designed for use by deployed troops and the military will need to train civilians on how to use them. He added that the first million respirator masks will be made available immediately.

ABC News' Jordyn Phelps, Ben Gittleson and Elizabeth McLaughlin contributed to this report.

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