• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
Home World

Trump advises voluntary mask use against coronavirus but won’t wear one himself

4 April 2020, 3:30 AM  |
Reuters Reuters |  @SABCNews
In a daily briefing with reporters, Trump stressed that the new recommendation should not be seen as replacing social distancing measures considered key to slowing the outbreak, which has now claimed more lives in New York state than the September 11, 2001 attacks.

In a daily briefing with reporters, Trump stressed that the new recommendation should not be seen as replacing social distancing measures considered key to slowing the outbreak, which has now claimed more lives in New York state than the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Image: Reuters

In a daily briefing with reporters, Trump stressed that the new recommendation should not be seen as replacing social distancing measures considered key to slowing the outbreak, which has now claimed more lives in New York state than the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The US government is now recommending Americans wear cloth face coverings on a voluntary basis to stem the spread of the coronavirus, President Donald Trump said on Friday, adding that he himself would not use one.

In a daily briefing with reporters, Trump stressed that the new recommendation should not be seen as replacing social distancing measures considered key to slowing the outbreak, which has now claimed more lives in New York state than the September 11, 2001 attacks.

“With the masks, it’s going to be really a voluntary thing. You can do it, you don’t have to do it. I’m choosing not to do it, but some people may want to do it and that’s OK,” Trump said.

When asked about the reasoning behind his decision, Trump cited his high-profile meetings. “As I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens … I don’t see it for myself, I just don’t,” Trump said.

The decision to promote mask use comes as state governors and hospitals clamor for scarce supplies of medical-grade masks for first responders. It also comes as experts have questioned the administration’s decision not to urge widespread mask use, in contrast to other countries hit by the virus.

“What has changed in our recommendation? Well, it’s important to know that we now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams said, noting that new evidence points to viral transmission via speaking, in addition to coughing and sneezing.

“Even those who eventually become pre-symptomatic, meaning they will develop symptoms in the future, can transmit the virus to others before they show symptoms,” he said.

Trump said the US. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention are not recommending the use of medical-grade masks for most people. He added that Americans can make cloth masks at home.

3M Co said on Friday it would make more N95 respirator masks for the United States to fight the pandemic, but warned of the “humanitarian implications” of limiting supply to other countries as Trump directed.

“The narrative that we aren’t doing everything we can as a company is just not true,” 3M chief executive Mike Roman told CNBC television in an interview on Friday.

“I’m not at all happy with 3M,” Trump said when asked about the pushback his order had received from Canada and the company. “I heard what he had to say today. I don’t know the gentleman, but we’re not happy with 3M.”

Trump took aim at states as well, saying they should have been better prepared to respond to the pandemic with their own stockpiles of medical supplies, and should not have expected the federal stockpile to meet their needs.

“Many of the states were totally unprepared for this, so we had to go into the federal stockpile,” Trump said. “We’re not an ordering clerk. They have to have for themselves.”

“We have been spending a tremendous amount of time, effort and billions and billions of dollars on making sure that they have what they have.”

Trump himself initially downplayed the seriousness of the virus and his administration has drawn fire for its slow response.

Share article
Tags: Donald TrumpCoronavirus
Previous Post

IMF sees coronavirus-induced global downturn ‘way worse’ than financial crisis

Next Post

China mourns thousands who died in country’s coronavirus epidemic

Related Posts

FILE PHOTO: People hold placards during a strike by NHS nurses and other medical workers, amid a dispute with the government over pay, in London, Britain, January 18, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

Britain faces largest ever healthcare strikes as pay disputes drag on

5 February 2023, 5:11 PM
FILE PHOTO: Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, addresses his supporters after his arrival from Dubai at Jinnah International airport in Karachi March 24, 2013

Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf dies in Dubai after years in exile

5 February 2023, 11:06 AM
A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S. February 1, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media.

Suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down by US military

5 February 2023, 8:16 AM
Rescuers use a crane to remove debris of a multistorey residential building damaged in recent shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, February 4, 2023. REUTERS/Pavel Klimov

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says situation at the front getting tougher

4 February 2023, 8:54 PM

Earthquake of magnitude 5.9 strikes Eastern New Guinea region: EMSC

4 February 2023, 3:58 PM
Firefighters at a scene of a blaze

Train derailment causes massive fire in Ohio: Media

4 February 2023, 9:23 AM
Next Post
More than 3 300 people in mainland China have died in the epidemic, which first surfaced in the central province of Hubei late last year, according to statistics published by the National Health Commission.

China mourns thousands who died in country's coronavirus epidemic

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • Registration at Unisa closes on Friday, but management says no need to panic
  • Green comet to be visible from SA next week
  • VIDEO: Mabuza resigns as SA Deputy President
  • Shock over proposed SA sponsorship of Tottenham Hotspur
  • Budding Stellenbosch FC star reportedly stabbed to death
  • Parts of the Northern Cape to be exempted from rolling blackouts
  • Registration at Unisa closes on Friday, but management says no need to panic
  • VIDEO | St Benedict College’s Matric learner gets 11 distinctions
  • Limpopo matriculant from child-headed household attains diploma pass
  • Female circumcision practice thriving in Eastern Cape
  • Green comet to be visible from SA next week
  • Budding Stellenbosch FC star reportedly stabbed to death
  • Tributes pour in for Stellenbosch FC player Oshwin Andries
  • Mabuza asked to remain in his role until transition finalised
  • ‘SA will remain a sinking ship under the ANC’

LATEST

President Cyril Ramaphosa
 has called a Joint Sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces at 19h00 on Thursday to deliver the State of the Nation Address.
  • Politics

Opposition parties outline their expectations for SONA


Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - February 5, 2023 Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane celebrates after the match after he became Tottenham Hotspur's all time top goalscorer Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications.  Please contact your account representative for further details.
  • Sport

Kane breaks Greaves Tottenham goal record, now targets Shearer


ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula together with party members at the January 8 anniversary celebration rally in Hammersdale , KwaZulu-Natal.
  • Politics

‘If you are lazy, stay home’, Mbalula advises ANC members


Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane is seen interacting with the school management team at the Geluksdal Secondary School in Brakpan on 03 February 2023 following the fatal stabbing of a learner.
  • South Africa

Emotional stress, gangs behind recent spate of violence in Gauteng schools


FILE PHOTO: Russian hacking underground newsletter is seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022 REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
  • Sci-tech

Italy sounds alarm on large-scale computer hacking attack


[File image]
  • Africa

One peacekeeper killed in Congo after UN chopper comes under fire


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2022

Previous IMF sees coronavirus-induced global downturn ‘way worse’ than financial crisis
Next China mourns thousands who died in country’s coronavirus epidemic