US President Donald Trump has said he will not wear a face mask despite new medical guidance advising Americans to do so.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidance for people to wear bandannas, t-shirts and other cloth-based coverings in crowded areas, especially in hot spots.
“The CDC is advising the use of non-medical cloth face covering as an additional voluntary public health measure,” the US president said on Friday.
“This is voluntary. I don’t think I’m going to be doing it”, he added.
He said he ‘could not see himself greeting presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens in the Oval Office while wearing one’.
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Until now, US health authorities had 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.
“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 on Friday.
However, he told the media after announcing the CDC’s new guidance that he ‘just don’t want to do it’ himself.
“Sitting in the Oval Office… I somehow don’t see it for myself.”
Americans are now advised to use clean cloth or fabric to cover their faces whilst in public. Officials have stressed that medical masks remain in short supply, and should be left for healthcare workers.
The guidance comes as the number of cases in the US now stands at 277,965 with the death toll at 7,157.