Trump recommends Americans wear masks outside as public health measure against coronavirus

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Apr 4 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has recommended all the Americans to voluntary use non-medical masks as an additional public health measure to fight the deadly coronavirus that has so far claimed the lives of more than 7,000 people in America.

Citing the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Trump urged people to wear face coverings like scarves or homemade cloth masks, but to keep medical-grade masks available for the health workers.

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 surgical-grade 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.

CDC has recommended that Americans were a basic cloth or fabric masks that can be either purchased online or simply made at home.

The deadly coronavirus has so far claimed the lives of over 7,000 people in the US and infected over 2,70,000 others.

During the press conference, Trump stressed that the new masks guidelines do not replace CDC's guidance on social distancing, including staying at home when possible, standing at least 6 feet apart for a period of time.

He also called for practicing hand hygiene.

Based on the new available data, CDC said the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity--for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing--even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms.