President Donald Trump does not want to issue a national mandate to wear masks to combat the coronavirus, preferring local governments make their own decisions, his press secretary said Thursday.
At a news briefing, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany declared: "We leave it to localities to make the decisions with regard to face coverings. [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines remain the same today: recommended but not required," Yahoo News reported.
The decision comes a day after CDC Director Robert Redfield said in a JAMA Network interview that face coverings are "our major defense to prevent ourselves from getting this infection."
"I think if we could get everybody to wear a mask right now, I think in four, six, eight weeks we could bring this epidemic under control," he said.
McEnany noted Trump wore a mask Saturday as he visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington — and he would do it again in situations where it is not possible to be socially distant.
"He did wear a mask this weekend when he visited the hospital," she said, Yahoo News reported. "So he has shown that, you know, he'll wear a mask."
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