- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
- Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)
How Trump changed his stance on the coronavirus 3:24
(CNN) - President Donald Trump announced Thursday that his administration will soon issue nationwide recommendations on the use of face masks, after initially telling Americans that they were not necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
But a top health adviser on his team strongly cautioned that the masks should not induce Americans to a false sense of security that would lead them to abandon the patterns of social alienation.
Speaking at a White House task force briefing, Trump noted that the new guide would not require all Americans to cover their faces.
"I don't think they are mandatory because some people don't want to do that," he said, adding that Americans who do want to wear face covers can "decide for themselves."
The president repeated his comment that fabric coverings and scarves would be ideal, both because they avoid the use of necessary medical-grade masks in hospitals and because of their thickness.
“In many ways, a scarf is better. It is thicker, ”he said.
- LOOK: WHO reiterates that you should not wear masks if you are not sick or if you do not care for someone who is
Trump did not offer details of the new recommendations, but people familiar with the matter said the administration was working on Thursday to complete the guide, which would advise Americans to cover their faces when leaving their homes.
Vice President Mike Pence said the working group continued to consider the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and that it would issue recommendations in the coming days.
CNN reported Wednesday that most members of the task force have reached an agreement that Americans should start wearing face covers in public and could soon issue formal guidance on this matter.
Some members of the task force, including Dr. Deborah Birx, have warned at meetings that they do not recommend that Americans wear masks for fear that they may soothe them in a false sense of protection and prevent them from socially withdrawing. But new ideas about the asymptomatic spread of the virus have led to a reconsideration of the instruction.
- MORE: Trump Shows Negative in Second Coronavirus Test
Speaking at Thursday's briefing, Birx said White House officials were still debating new recommendations.
"It is not a substitute for the presidential guidelines (on social distancing) that have already come out," he said. "Don't have a false sense of security that this mask protects you exclusively from infection."
"This worries us," he added. "So the debate on the mask continues."
Among the topics discussed by the task force and the CDC have been how to teach Americans to wear masks and how to avoid rushing into medical-grade equipment, such as N95 respirators, which are still in short supply for hospitals.
There have also been discussions about the cultural shift that mask recommending would represent, as Americans (unlike citizens of some Asian countries) are not used to wearing masks in public.
And there has been some consideration of whether or not to call the recommended facial coatings "masks." Some have suggested referring to them simply as "face covers" or "courtesy masks" to distinguish them from the medical masks that professionals need.
coronavirus facial masks
