White House Task Force asks Americans to wear masks while Trump terms it 'personal choice'

The White House coronavirus task force is aggressively asking Americans to wear face masks before going out in public places after many states reported a surge in daily infections. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, a member of the task force, during a briefing on June 30 urged people to wear a face-covering saying, "please, please, please wear a mask when you go out in public." Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the coronavirus task force also called on people to wear face coverings. Pence himself was wearing a mask during the briefing. 

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the members of the task force said that Americans are doing it all wrong, particularly citing examples of bars and restaurants where people were queuing in lines and standing close to each other. Fauci said that daily infection average could rise to 1,00,000 from 40,000 if people fail to follow basic precautionary measures and continue to gather in large numbers. Mike Pence during the briefing urged people to wear masks wherever it is necessary. However, Pence left it on states to manage as he made clear that there are no plans to introduce national requirements to wear masks. The White House was earlier downplaying the importance of wearing face masks, but with growing daily cases, it seems that the administration has learned its lessons. However, President Donald Trump is still not taking the matter seriously as he is often spotted without a face mask. 

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COVID-19 in the US

According to figures by Johns Hopkins University, the United States has recorded over 2.6 million coronavirus cases so far, of which 1,27,410 people have lost their lives. New York remains the worst-hit region in the country with 32,032 deaths, followed by New Jersey with 15,035 deaths. Cases are steadily rising in the country with 25 states reporting more infections last week than the previous week. According to reports, 10 states in the United States registered weekly infection rise of more than 50 percent. Meanwhile, the global tally stands at 10 million cases and over 5,10,000 deaths as of June 30. 

Read: Anthony Fauci Says 'shouldn't Be Surprised' If US Reports 100,000 COVID-19 Cases Per Day

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(Image Credit: AP)