Coronavirus: US asks citizens to wear masks in public places

Washington : The Trump administration has appeared to join the local administration on Thursday asking the Americans to wear a mask when they are visiting a public place as coronavirus is still exploding in the nation. The death toll in the US rose by 1000 for the first time in a single day.

Speaking at a White House briefing, Deborah Birx, member of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been preparing to recommend that everyone wears face coverings in public settings, like pharmacies and grocery stores, to avoid unwittingly spreading the virus.

Birx, however, mentioned that people must not create a false sense of security that they will be completely protected from coronavirus after wearing the mask. And other public health officials continued to stress that N95 masks and surgical masks should be saved for frontline doctors and nurses, who have been in dire need of protective gear.

From a long time, there have been different thoughts over wearing it. At first, officials clearly stated that masks should only be worn by sick people. For some time, Trump has been saying masks might be useful, but scarves would be fine as well. It was earlier noted that the notion was created to ensure enough masks are available for the nursing staff.

But critics say if people continue to spread the virus unwittingly, the hospitalizations would keep surging, and there is no point to reserve protective gear for medics.

Earlier this week, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, said they were reviewing their guidelines on mask wearing, citing there are high rates of transmission from people who are infected but show no symptoms.

Meanwhile, the total number of positive coronavirus cases in the world has officially crossed the 1-million mark.