Coronavirus: Donald Trump vows not to order Americans to wear masks

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, promised not to order Americans to wear masks to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

His comments came after the country’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, urged state and local leaders to be “as blunt as possible” for people to wear masks.

The use of face covers, Dr. Fauci added, is “really important” and “we should be using them, everyone.”

The use of face covers has become highly politicized in the United States.

President Trump, who had previously balked at wearing a face covering himself, wore a mask in public for the first time last Saturday.

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But speaking to Fox News on Friday, Trump said he disagreed with a national mask mandate, saying that people should have “a certain freedom.”

In the southern state of Georgia, Republican Governor Brian Kemp urged residents to wear masks for the next month.

Kemp appealed to state residents despite taking legal action the day before against Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for making facial coatings mandatory in the city.

Mrs. Bottoms has tested positive for coronavirus.

Oklahoma City officials are also considering a city-wide inner mask requirement, in the absence of a state mandate.

Several U.S. states, primarily southern states, are experiencing an increase in coronavirus cases.

There are now more than 3.6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S., and there have been more than 139,000 deaths, the highest number of deaths in the world.