Donald Trump Says He Won’t Use Face Masks As Recommended by CDC, Wife Melania Trump Tweets to Take ‘Covering With Mask’ Seriously
Trump said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends that Americans wear cloth face covering to protect against COVID-19 but said he would not wear mask as it is a voluntary thing.
Washington, April 4: Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, announced new guidelines as issued by CDC (Centers for Disease Control) advising Americans to use the face masks as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19. Trump asserted that the use of 'non-medical cloth-based' face masks can prevent the spread of the coronavirus, adding that he will not use the face mask as recommended by the CDC as it was a voluntary thing. Trump emphasised that the advisory by CDC is just a precautionary measure and Americans should only wear masks voluntarily.
In his address during the White House briefing, he said, "I don't think I'm going to be doing it... Wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens...I just don't see it". "It is voluntary. They suggested for a period of time", he added. According to a report by AFP, Trump said several times that mask-wearing was 'voluntary' and then added, 'I don't think I'm going to do it'. "You don't have to do it and I'm choosing not to do it, but some people may want to do it and that's okay", Trump said. Coronavirus in US: Social Distancing Guidelines to Stay Until No New COVID-19 Cases, Deaths, Says White House.
Take a Look at the Video:
Soon after Trump's statement, his wife and the first lady of US Melania Trump, took to Twitter and urged Americans to 'take social distancing & wearing a mask/face covering seriously'. "As the weekend approaches I ask that everyone take social distancing & wearing a mask/face covering seriously", the first lady tweeted.
Here's the tweet:
Earlier, Trump had suggested that Americans could simply wear scarves amid the coronavirus crisis. However on Friday, he said the CDC was putting out the new recommendation for masks. According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, the number of COVID-19 cases in the US has topped over 275,586 as of Friday, with over 7,087 deaths.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 04, 2020 09:05 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).