Dr Fauci gives simple reason why US did not advise people to wear Covid masks at the start

Top US infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci revealed the reason behind the US government not advising people to wear masks at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic-- a heavy shortage of masks. While speaking to international media, Fauci stated that the demand for masks was putting the medical professionals at risk due to the shortage. According to him, they did not want the healthcare workers to be without the equipment that they needed. 

Fauci further added that the government now knows more about the effectiveness of different types of masks than it did when the pandemic started. Advising to wearing masks, he added that while masks cannot be 100 percent effective, it is better than not wearing one at all. During the period from January to March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had actively discouraged the general public from wearing masks. Later, as the cases became more serious, the CDC had recommended wearing simple cloth coverings instead of surgical or N95 masks.  

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Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has time and again stirred controversy by his strange remarks regarding the COVID-19 outbreak and the refusal of wearing masks. Earlier last month, he was spotted attending press conferences without a mask multiple times. 

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Coronavirus crisis in the US

Leading the number of worldwide cases of novel coronavirus COVID-19 infection, the United States is by far the country with the highest COVID numbers, surpassing China, Italy, and Iran. Currently, there are a total of 2,208,400 cases of Coronavirus with around 119,132 deaths. Meanwhile, New York --  one of the worst-hit spots in the US, has seen a total of 30,998 deaths and over 405,785 COVID-19 positive cases.

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