News

Trump Recommends Hospitals Reuse Face Masks Helping Prevent Coronavirus Spread

President Donald Trump suggested Saturday that healthcare workers reuse face masks due to a supply shortage caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“I have to tell you, the throwing away of the masks, being in private business, the throwing away of the mask right away, they’re throwing it away,” Trump said the coronavirus briefing.

He continued, “We have very good liquids for doing this, sanitizing the masks, and that that’s something they’re starting to do more and more. They’re sanitizing the masks.”

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines about coronavirus do mention “limited re-use of facemasks,” but warns “it is unknown what the potential for contact transmission is” for coronavirus and notes “not all facemasks can be re-used.”

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, emphasized during the briefing that hospitals should refer to CDC guidelines regarding reusing masks but did not contradict Trump’s idea.

“There are CDC guidances about how you can minimize the use of masks by different things that you could do with testing and when you have masks, how you might reuse them, which ones you can reuse,” Fauci said.

CORONAVIRUS FAQ: WIKI OF MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

However, resuing masks is not the ideal solution.

“The goal is not to reuse masks,” said Lucy Wilson, chair of the department of emergency health services at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. “It’s really a stopgap measure for the mask shortage that we’re having, but it’s not the best practice. The best practice would be single-use.”

Katherine Huggins

Recent Posts

VIDEO: Transgender Activist Confronts GOP Rep. Nancy Mace At D.C. Summit

A prominent transgender-rights activist disrupted a talk involving Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) in Washington,…

2 days ago

Biden’s Historic Climate Policies Are Poised To Be Undone By Trump

After President-elect Donald Trump's victory, experts have expressed serious doubts about the future of the Biden…

2 days ago

VIDEO: Trump Watches SpaceX Launch Alongside Elon Musk & Ted Cruz

https://youtube.com/shorts/YVrfbMZSVRE?feature=share US President-elect Donald Trump drew cheers as he arrived in Texas on Nov. 19 to watch…

5 days ago

Foreign Policy Experts Voice Concern About Trump’s Nomination Of Tulsi Gabbard For Director Of National Intelligence

After President-elect Donald Trump selected Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, as his nominee for…

6 days ago

Trump’s Pick Of Vaccine-Skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. As Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Alarms Scientific Community

President-elect Donald Trump's announcement that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be his pick for Department…

1 week ago

VIDEO: President-Elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk & Cabinet Picks Attend UFC Fight In NYC, Crowd Chants “USA”

https://youtube.com/shorts/6CUvTmS87UM?feature=share President-elect Donald Trump arrived to cheers at an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event in…

1 week ago