CDC guidelines: Americans should wear face masks to prevent spread of coronavirus
President Donald Trump released new guidelines for Americans on Friday to wear masks to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The directive reverses previous advice by U.S. health experts that people shouldn’t wear face masks unless they’re infected with the virus or caring for a patient with COVID-19.
“It’s only a recommendation,” Trump said. “It’s voluntary.”
Trump said he doesn’t plan to wear a mask and emphasized that medical-grade masks should be reserved for health workers.
Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, the new recommendation instructs people to wear cloth masks that are homemade or purchased online to prevent transmission of the virus, Trump said. This reserves higher-grade protective gear such as N95 respirators for medical workers and hospitals.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said people should wear the cloth masks while visiting places where it’s difficult to stay away from others, including grocery stores and pharmacies. He said masks aren’t a replacement for social distancing guidelines.
“It’s critical to emphasize that maintaining six feet of social distancing remains critical,” Adams said during the news conference.
Adams said people should wash their hands before putting on a mask and avoid touching their face while wearing it.
New COVID-19 face mask guidelines mean we’ll need to make our own. Here are tips
On Monday, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield told WABE in Atlanta that the guidance on masks was reviewed after new data showed high transmission rates involving infected people who still don’t have symptoms.
“This helps explain how rapidly this virus continues to spread across the country because we have asymptomatic transmitters and we have individuals who are transmitting 48 hours before they become symptomatic,” Redfield told the National Public Radio member station.
Redfield reiterated this research on Friday in explaining the new guidelines.
Health officials have voiced concern the new guidelines could have negative effects.
Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the country, previously told CNN that health care workers should be supplied with enough masks before considering widespread use by the public.
“You don’t want to take masks away from the health care providers who are in a real and present danger of getting infected. That would be the worst thing we do. If we have them covered, then you could look back and say maybe we need to broaden this.”
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 5:42 PM with the headline "CDC guidelines: Americans should wear face masks to prevent spread of coronavirus."