KOKOMO

Places like summer camps and colleges are requiring those attending to get vaccinated against COVID.

– Ventec Life Systems will stop producing medical breathing machines in Kokomo by the end of the month, the company’s CEO has told employees. Ventec is “winding down production in Indiana” because of weakening demand for its ventilators, Ventec CEO Chris Kiple said in an email sent to employees Tuesday and obtained by the Kokomo Tribune. The company has about 800 employees in Kokomo. President Donald Trump ordered GM to build the ventilators in March under the Defense Production Act. “I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who made production in Kokomo such as success in the past nine months,” Kiple wrote in his email.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visits the General Motors Components Holding Plant that is manufacturing ventilators for use during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kokomo, Indiana, U.S. April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Chris Bergin/File Photo(Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is self-isolating away from the White House after an aide was diagnosed with the coronavirus, a Bloomberg reporter tweeted here on Sunday. Pence has repeatedly tested negative, including on Sunday, for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the tweet added. President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that Pences spokeswoman, Katie Miller, had tested positive for the virus, a day after news that Trumps personal valet also had tested positive. Both Trump and Pence have drawn criticism for not donning face coverings despite a recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to do so in certain public settings.

Trump placed Pence in charge of the task force, which has been meeting almost every day since it was formed in March. Deborah Birx, the coronavirus task response coordinator, said the team would keep a close eye on the data. Birx said the group was looking at outbreaks in Chicago and Des Moines, Iowa, as points of concern. The focus is now on therapeutics, vaccines and addressing infection hotspots, the task force members said. Related Coverage Trump says coronavirus task force will wind down as focus shifts to reopeningWhether that can be achieved or not, it is realistic, said Azar. The White House task force has been less visible in recent days as Trump turned his attention to efforts to reopen the U.S. economy.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visits the General Motors Components Holding Plant that is manufacturing ventilators for use during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kokomo, Indiana, U.S. April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Chris BerginWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is having conversations about when to wind down its coronavirus task force, and is looking at the possibility of starting to move coordination of the U.S. response to federal agencies around the Memorial Day weekend, Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday. Administration officials are telling task force members and their staff to expect the group to wind down within weeks, according to the New York Times, which first reported bringing the task force to a close. The task force will finish up as the White House moves forward on Trumps plan to reopen the country after many states ordered people to stay at home in order to slow the spread of the potentially deadly coronavirus. Formed in March, the task force headed by Pence met frequently to address the rapidly spreading pandemic and then explained its work in nightly news briefings with Trump that often spanned more than an hour.

But at a roundtable discussion later during the visit, Pence removed his mask, as did other attendees, including Chao. Pence was accompanied during the visit to the GM facility in Kokomo, Indiana, by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Indiana Gov. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and CEO of General Motors Mary Barra visit the General Motors Components Holding Plant that is manufacturing ventilators for use during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kokomo, Indiana, U.S. April 30, 2020. Pence, who once served as governor of Indiana, is leading the White House's coronavirus task force. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in guidance issued in early April urging Americans to wear masks, says, "You could spread COVID-19 to others even if you do not feel sick."

Kokomo police said officers were sent to a Walmart around 3 p.m. Saturday and found a 29-year-old male with several gunshot wounds following a fight inside the store.

For weeks, Cole, 42, has been working tirelessly to begin producing critical care ventilators for the U.S. at a closed engineering facility in Kokomo, Indiana. About 240 salaried employees outside of GM's Kokomo operations assisted in producing the ventilators with Ventec, according to the automaker. GM says 550 United Auto Workers members are producing ventilators on one shift of eight to 10 hours, seven days a week. 'Proudest moments'GM expects to hire 1,000 UAW members, many of whom have been laid off from the Kokomo operations, for the ventilator work. A third shift producing ventilators is expected to begin by June, GM said.

FILE PHOTO: The GM logo is seen in Warren, Michigan October 26, 2015. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded nine contracts totaling nearly $2.6 billion to produce 137,000 ventilators by the end of 2020 for the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile, including a contract to GM worth $489.4 million for 30,000 ventilators by the end of August after President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act. It added that it expected to fill nearly half the order by the end of June and the full order by the end of August. The ventilators will be produced at a plant in Kokomo, Indiana. The stock has fallen more than 37% this year, as coronavirus-related lockdowns weigh on automobile sales.

Workers prepare to build ventilators at the GM manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Indiana, Monday, April 6, 2020, where GM and Ventec Life Systems are partnering to produce Ventec critical care ventilators in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by AJ Mast for General Motors)DETROIT – General Motors announced Tuesday that its first Ventec Life Systems V+Pro critical care ventilators are ready for delivery to the U.S. government’s Strategic National Stockpile. GM was awarded April 8 with a government contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to build 30,000 ventilators by August. The automaker is working with Ventec Life Systems, a partnership announced in March, to produce the machines at its plant in Kokomo, Indiana. The automaker said it has the capacity to build more ventilators after August if needed.

General Motors employees report to their first day of work Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at a GM manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Indiana, where GM and Ventec Life Systems are partnering to produce Ventec VOCSN critical care ventilators in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. General Motors said on Tuesday the first batch of ventilators needed to treat severely sick coronavirus patients were ready for delivery to the United States government. Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services awarded GM a contract worth $489.4 million to make 30,000 ventilators by the end of August. GM, which is working with ventilator firm Ventec Life Systems to produce the ventilators, said it will ship more than 600 ventilators this month. It added that it expects to fill nearly half the order by the end of June and the full order by August-end.

GM awarded government contract to build 30,000 ventilatorsPublished: April 8, 2020, 12:09 pmGeneral Motors has been awarded a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to build 30,000 ventilators by August.

General Motors employees report to their first day of work Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at a GM manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Indiana, where GM and Ventec Life Systems are partnering to produce Ventec VOCSN critical care ventilators in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. General Motors will build 30,000 ventilators for the national stockpile for $489.4 million to assist in the coronavirus pandemic, federal officials announced Wednesday. The Detroit automaker will produce and deliver the ventilators to the government by the end of August, with the first 6,132 ventilators being delivered by June 1, the agency said. Production is expected to begin next week, according to a GM spokesman. The cost is about half the price previously reported by The New York Times for a contract to build up to 80,000 ventilators for $1 billion.

I don't think we need to worry about General Motors," Trump said Sunday night, according to Reuters. Trump criticized GM and CEO Mary Barra in a tweet on Friday, saying the company wanted "top dollar" for making ventilators. Following GM confirming it will build critical-care ventilators with Ventec Life Systems in Indiana, Trump ordered GM to make the ventilators under the Defense Production Act. "Ventec, GM and our supply base have been working around the clock for over a week to meet this urgent need," GM said in a statement last week following Trump criticizing the automaker's speed in producing the ventilators. General Motors and Ventec Life Systems are partnering to convert the GM Kokomo, Indiana ERC building for the production of Ventec ventilators in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.