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.
The US has so far confirmed 278,458 cases of Covid-19 and more than 7,100 deaths. New York state remains the worst hit area, with nearly 3,000 deaths.
The deadly coronavirus has so far infected over 1,131,000 people and claimed the lives of over 59,800 people across the world, according to latest figures from the Johns Hopkins University.
Until now, health authorities here said that only the sick, or those caring for patients of coronavirus, should wear masks, but newer studies suggest that covering up one’s face is important to prevent inadvertent transmission.