'It's not for me': Donald Trump defies his medical chiefs by refusing to wear coronavirus face mask

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Ewan Somerville4 April 2020

Donald Trump has defied guidance from his own medical chiefs by refusing to wear a face mask amid America’s escalating coronavirus crisis.

The US president said he does not “see it for myself” because he greets “presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens” in the Oval Office.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US government’s public health agency, urged all Americans to cover their faces in public with protective equipment on Friday after new scientific evidence emerged suggesting it could lower transmission.

But when asked by a reporter why he was not wearing one, Mr Trump insisted it was “voluntary”.

Donald Trump insisted the face mask guidance was voluntary 
Getty Images

He added: “You do not have to do it.. I don’t think I’m going to be doing it.”

The CDC recommends people use clean cloth or fabric and keep medical masks for health professionals. Initially the guidance applied only to the elderly or vulnerable, but has now been scaled up to the whole population.

The move followed 1,000 deaths in one day - a world record daily amount - taking the total to 7,000. New York remains the epicentre, experiencing 3,000 deaths alone.

The US has the most confirmed Covid-19 cases in the world at 278,458, according to John Hopkins University, while cases worldwide have surpassed one million.

Earlier this week, Mr Trump warned that a “rough two weeks” are ahead as the pandemic nears its peak.

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