Health & Fitness
Coronavirus Livestream: Americans Urged To Use Face Coverings
President Donald Trump said the new recommendation is voluntary, and that he doesn't plan on complying.
President Donald Trump said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is officially recommending all Americans wear non-surgical face masks — what many are referring to as "face coverings" — to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
At Friday's briefing detailing the continued U.S. response against the pandemic, Trump said the recommendation to wear face masks in public settings, such as at pharmacies and grocery stores, is voluntary. He also said he will not be complying with it.
The suggestion comes as the number of dead from the coronavirus surged past the 7,000 mark Friday afternoon.
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Trump also said he is signing a Defense Production Act to "prohibit export of scarce health and medical supplies by unscrupulous actors and profiteers." The move comes after Trump targeted Maplewood, Minnesota-based 3M, chastising the company for continuing to export N95 surgical masks to other countries.
In a statement Friday, 3M said its employees "have gone above and beyond to manufacture as many N95 respirators as possible for the U.S. market." The company says it has maximized the amount of respirators it can produce for the nation's health care workers every day since the crisis began.
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"In the course of our collaboration with the administration this past weekend, the administration requested that 3M increase the amount of respirators we currently import from our overseas operations into the U.S. We appreciate the assistance of the administration to do exactly that. For example, earlier this week, we secured approval from China to export to the U.S. 10 million N95 respirators manufactured by 3M in China."
3M also said it would fight back against the White House's demand to stop exporting respirators it currently manufactures in the United States to the Canadian and Latin American markets. 3M says where would be "significant humanitarian implications" in doing so.
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