In this Friday, June 1, 2018, photo, a pharmacy technician prepares syringes containing fentanyl in the sterile medicines area of the inpatient pharmacy at the University of Utah Hospital, in Salt Lake City. (Photo: AP)

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Xinhua) -- US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will invoke the Defense Production Act, which allows the administration to force American industry to ramp up production of medical supplies, to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

"It can do a lot of good things if we need it," Trump said during a White House briefing with reporters.

Hospitals and states across the United States have pleaded with the federal government for more supplies to protect doctors and nurses on the frontlines of the pandemic, according to a report by The Hill.