Scarce supplies for medical equipment

when the government reported that employers slashed over 700,000 jobs last month. But the true picture is far worse, because the figures do not include the last two weeks, when 10 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits.

A more immediate concern was the shortage of masks and gloves, leading to fierce competition among buyers from Europe, the US and elsewhere and aggressive measures such as New

York state governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to take ventilators that are not being used. Mr Cuomo says New York, the nation’s worst hot spot, could run out of ventilators next week.

The search for supplies and bidding wars among buyers have created what Valerie Pecresse, president of France’s battered Ile-de-France region, called a “worldwide treasure hunt”.

Along with blocking mask exports,

Mr Trump announced new guidelines that call for everyone to wear makeshift face coverings such as T-shirts and bandannas when leaving the house, especially in areas hit hard by the pandemic, like New York.

But the president said he had no intention of following the advice from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s a recommendation, they recommend it,” Mr Trump told reporters. “I just don’t want to wear one myself.”

Italy, the hardest-hit country in Europe with about 14,700 dead, continued seeing signs that infections and deaths might be levelling off.

France reported a surge of more than 1,000 deaths Friday, bringing its overall toll to more than 6,500.

Spain recorded over 900 new deaths, down slightly from the record it hit a day earlier.