On Friday, the President of the United States announces that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) is suggesting the citizens of America wear cloth face masks while going outside home to stop the COVID-19 spread. The change in precautionary guidelines indicates the main shift in how the U.S. officials are looking to fight the coronavirus spread.
During the press briefing with the coronavirus task force of the White House, Trump said that the officials recommended it because researches reveal that asymptomatic people are becoming the cause to spread the virus. In light of these findings, the CDC department of the U.S. is guiding the use of non-medical cloth face masks as an additional voluntary public health precautionary measure.
#DYK? CDC’s recommendation on wearing a cloth face covering may help protect the most vulnerable from #COVID19. Watch @Surgeon_General Jerome Adams make a face covering in a few easy steps. https://t.co/bihJ3xEM15 pic.twitter.com/mE7Tf6y3MK
— CDC (@CDCgov) April 4, 2020
Trump adds that he doesn’t think he is going to do it because it is voluntary. Because he cannot visualize himself by wearing a mask and sitting in the Oval Office of the White House. The CDC states on Friday that coronavirus can spread between individuals interacting in closeness, such as sneezing, coughing, speaking – even if those individuals have not any symptoms of the virus.
Breaking: CDC’s recommendation on use of cloth face coverings, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission of #COVID19. Read more: https://t.co/jhU7jyJKwd
— Dr. Robert R. Redfield (@CDCDirector) April 3, 2020
New Evidence and recommendation to wear cloth face coverings
The CDC said that in light of the latest evidence, they suggest wearing face coverings made of cloths in public where other social distancing measures hard to maintain – for example, pharmacies and grocery stores, specifically in areas of weighty community-based transmission. For many weeks, the CDC, the Trump administration, and the World Health Organization advised the general public that just only those individuals affected by the virus should wear face masks. Whereas, the surgical and N95 face masks should reserve for the medical professionals risking their lives to treat coronavirus patients.
On the other side, the surgeon general, Dr. Jerome Adams, said during a press briefing that they faced the issue as a massive number of asymptomatic individuals becoming the spread cause of the virus. He requested the healthy American nationals to spare the surgical and N95 masks for the health care workers and, as an alternative to making homemade cloth face coverings if they want to do so.
My comments on @CDCgov‘s new recommendations on face coverings: https://t.co/zBbHg8675P#COVID19 pic.twitter.com/MUaQYl0OpQ
— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) April 3, 2020
During the press conference, the President announced that the U.S. Federal Government would refund hospitals for treating coronavirus patients who do not have insurance. Trump starts the briefing by stressing how New York City, New Jersey, Michigan, and Louisiana are among the major-hit places in the U.S.
COVID-19 tests for people having close contact with Trump or Vice President Pence
The statement came as the administration of the White House is taking additional steps to protect the president and the vice president from the coronavirus infection. According to the announcement, the people having close proximity to Trump or Pence will need to have an instant COVID-19 test. The White House said that the necessary tests started Friday for any individual working with Trump or Pence in the coming days or weeks.
The White House is stepping up precautions to protect President Trump and Vice President Pence. Starting Friday, anyone expected to be in “close proximity” to either will be given a quick COVID-19 test. https://t.co/97NpclAKVB
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) April 3, 2020
However, the new testing orders will only fit the people who will be in close proximity to the president. In those people, there are some staff members, along with other individuals who may sit behind Trump at any meeting. The move of CDC advising all U.S. nationals to wear a mask when going outside home comes after some local officials recommend their residents to wear either homemade face coverings while going out for any emergency task.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a coronavirus task force member, said that the recent guidelines don’t intend to exclude the availability of such live-saving supplies for front-line health care workers who need more protective equipment as governors of all the states doing their best to secure supplies. Moreover, he said that wearing a homemade cloth covering didn’t mean that the nationals start ignoring the social distancing guidelines of six feet while at any public place.
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