President Donald Trump says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now recommending the use of nonsurgical-grade cloth masks for people when out in public -- a voluntary measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“It’s only a recommendation,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday, adding that the suggestion doesn’t replace guidance on social distancing. “It’s voluntary.”
The announcement marks a reversal for health officials, who previously said that those without symptoms didn’t need to wear a mask. Trump said the CDC isn’t recommending the use of commercial medical-grade masks, which are in short supply at hospitals.
Officials in New York City, the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S., and in California’s Bay Area on Thursday told residents they should cover their faces when they are outside. Los Angeles is also recommending that.
More than 266,600 people in the U.S. have tested positive for the virus and more than 6,800 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Public-health authorities and researchers have been racing to understand how the coronavirus spreads. A growing body of research suggests that small, virus-laden droplets of spit or mucus from a cough, sneeze or even talking could linger in the air, creating a source of infection that circumvents hand-washing and surface cleaning. There is also more evidence that people without symptoms can transmit infections. This new evidence has fueled the recent, intensifying debate over the value of masks.
Scientists originally believed that the risk of infection came mainly from droplets produced when an infected person coughed or sneezed. Recent research suggests the virus may become airborne when a patient simply exhales.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams said wearing masks could help prevent asymptomatic people from spreading coronavirus. He told reporters at the White House that people should consider wearing them in pharmacies and drug stores.
Trump told reporters he doesn’t plan to wear a mask as he meets with people at the White House. The president has repeatedly tested negative for the virus.
He said the coverings can be home-made or purchased online. Americans shouldn’t try to obtain medical masks, Trump said. In recent days, he suggested thick scarves as a suitable alternative.
“Medical protective gear must be reserved for the front-line health care workers who are performing those vital services,” Trump said.
Strain on Supplies
But even as a voluntary measure, the recommendation for broader use of masks has already raised concern that it could cause a sudden run on the coverings.
Though some people already have begun acquiring or creating face masks on their own, the administration's shift could test the market's ability to accommodate a surge in demand.
The new recommendations come as states are bracing for critical shortfalls like those that other parts of the world have experienced. They're scrambling to stockpile all manners of equipment.
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday he would use his authority to seize ventilators and protective gear from private hospitals and companies that aren’t using them.
The administration has said states should have done more to stockpile medical supplies, but it's not clear if anyone is prepared for the rush that could ensue if everyone follows the White House guidance.
In rural Florida, Okeechobee Discount Drugs has been sold out of face masks for almost two weeks, and “we don’t know where you can find any masks at this point,” said Stacey Nelson, one of the pharmacy’s owners.
“It’s very hard to get these products, but people want them,” Nelson said. “They’ve been getting mixed messages and people aren’t sure if they should be wearing masks in our daily lives. It’s very confusing. Wear them, or don’t wear them?”
At the West Cocoa Pharmacy along Florida’s Space Coast, it’s been impossible to get any shipments of the N95 masks, said owner Dawn Butterfield.
Even the less protective “earloop” masks are out of stock. Whenever a customer comes in looking for a face mask, Butterfield said she recommends they contact two women in the area who are sewing cloth face masks out of T-shirts.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
In fashioning the recommendations, the administration appears to be striving to balance political concerns about states that have not been as affected by the coronavirus and wanting to preserve as much normalcy as possible with public health concerns that some infections are being spread by people who seem to be healthy and this could infect areas that so far have been mostly spared.
The White House has faced pushback against rigorous social distancing guidelines from states with lesser rates of infection. For the hardest-hit areas, where social distancing has already been in place for some time, the White House coronavirus task force thought there would be less risk of people ignoring the other guidance if they covered their faces.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force coordinator, said Thursday she was concerned that people would be lulled into a false sense of security by covering their face, and wouldn’t abide by the more critical and effective measures to slow the spread of the virus: staying 6 feet apart, frequently washing their hands and refraining from touching their faces.
As with other public health guidance, the recommendation on face covering has been a moving target for the administration. Under the previous guidance, only the sick or those at high risk of complications from the respiratory illness were advised to wear masks.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams wrote on Twitter at the end of February that people should “STOP BUYING MASKS" and said they were not effective in protecting the general public.
On Monday, he noted that the World Health Organization does not recommend masks for healthy members of the population. Three days later, he tweeted that though there remains “scant" evidence that wearing a mask, especially improperly, can protect the wearer, “emerging data suggests facial coverings may prevent asymptomatic disease transmission to others."
WHO has this week indicated is is reviewing evidence on the efficacy of mask use.
Bloomberg News also contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.