President Donald Trump has recommended Americans to cover their faces with scarves or homemade cloth masks while going outside to curb the spread of the coronavirus though he would not wear one himself.
Well, not only did he decide to not follow his own guidelines, he also seems to have dared to ignore his wife Melania Trump's advice to wear a mask and practise social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak.
"As the weekend approaches I ask that everyone take social distancing & wearing a mask/face covering seriously. #COVID19 is a virus that can spread to anyone - we can stop this together," Melania tweeted.
Earlier, citing the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Trump urged people to wear face coverings like scarves or homemade cloth masks, and 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 said 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 wear a basic cloth or fabric masks that can be either purchased online or simply made at home.
However, Trump said that he will not follow that guidance.
"I just don't want to wear one myself, it's a recommendation," he said.
"Somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, the great Resolute Desk, I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, dictators, kings, queens, I don't know, I don't see it for myself," he said.
"Maybe I’ll change my mind, but this will pass, and hopefully it will pass very quickly," he added.
The deadly coronavirus has so far claimed over 7,000 lives in the US and infected over 2,70,000 people.
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 and 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.
