New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is asking residents at the U.S. epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak to don a face mask when they go outside and will be near other people.
Citing research showing asymptomatic people could be spreading the coronavirus without realizing it.
“When you put on that face covering, you’re protecting everyone else,” the mayor said at a press briefing Thursday.
“It can be a scarf, it can be something you create at home it can be a bandana,” he added, CNBC reported.
A recent study by researchers in Singapore became the latest to estimate that somewhere around 10% of new infections may be sparked by people who carry the virus but have not yet suffered symptoms.
De Blasio cautioned residents against wearing surgical masks or other medical-grade protection so as not to make the shortage for personal protective equipment in hospitals even worse.
“When you think of masks, you think of what our health care workers and first responders need and those precious supplies that we’re bringing in, those PPEs, that’s for them and all those people at the front line who need it,” de Blasio said, CNBC reported.
The less fancy the face covering, the better, said Dr. Oxiris Barbot, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the news outlet reported. She recommended keeping more than one face covering on hand to alternate between them.
“These face coverings shouldn’t be seen as an invitation to come closer, they should actually be an indication to keep six feet’s distance,” said city health commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot.
The mayor of Los Angeles also told everyone in the city to start wearing masks on Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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