In an interview to American television network, Fox News, US President Donald Trump has said that he will not force people in the United States to wear masks to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
“I don’t agree with the statement that if everybody wears a mask, everything disappears," said Trump in the interview.
Trump's comments come after a top infectious diseases expert in the US, Dr Anthony Fauci, appealed to all state and local authorities to be “as forceful as possible” in ensuring that people wear masks in public places.
“When you’re living your life and trying to open up the country, you are going to come into contact with people. And for that reason, we know that masks are really important, and we should be using them everywhere,” Fauci had said during a US Chamber of Commerce virtual event, reported PTI.
He further said that Americans are slowing down the re-opening process by not wearing masks.
“If we could get more people to understand that, hopefully we’ll get more people who’d be willing to wear masks,” he had said.
Trump also said in the interview that he is a "believer of masks" and that "masks are good", but then went on to say that they "can cause problems too".
There were 77,255 new cases reported in the US on Thursday, 16 July, crossing a previous record that was set just two days ago, according to Johns Hopkins University.
(With inputs from PTI)
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