Trump advocates masks but won’t wear it

Washington, April 4: All Americans should cover their faces with scarves or homemade cloth masks when they leave their homes as part of the desperate efforts to curb the massive spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, President Donald Trump has suggested.

Citing the latest recommendations from the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Trump, who has decided not to wear a mask, urged people to wear face coverings like scarves or homemade cloth masks, and to keep medical-grade masks available for the health workers who are struggling to contain the growing number of Covid-19 cases.

The guidelines issued by the CDC, the government’s public health advisory agency, came as the US reported more than 1,100 deaths in a single day - the highest total for a 24-hour period anywhere in the world.

Senior officials at the CDC told the White House this week that stronger guidelines were necessary to prevent the virus from spreading between asymptomatic people, US media reported.

“From recent studies we know that the transmission from individuals without symptoms is playing a more significant role in the spread of the virus than previously understood,” Trump said.

“The CDC is advising the use of non-medical cloth face covering as an additional voluntary public health measure,” Trump told reporters during a press briefing at the

White House on Friday.

“The CDC is not recommending the use of medical-grade or surgicalgrade masks. Those needs to be used for medical people working to save lives of Americans. Medical protective gear must be reserved for the front-line healthcare workers who are performing those vital services,” he said.

However, Trump said he will not follow that guidance. “I just don’t want to wear one myself, it’s a recommendation,” he said.

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