Trump: Americans can 'pretty much decide for themselves' to wear coronavirus face mask

The Trump administration on Thursday said Americans going outside in public who desire to wear face masks should do so, but that they didn't want to mandate wearing them in order to avoid providing a false sense of security in the battle against the coronavirus.

"I think they're going to be coming out with regulations on that, and if people want to abide by them, frankly, I don't think they'll be mandatory, because some people don't want to do that," President Trump said. "If people wanted to wear them, they can. If people wanted to wear scarves, which they have, many people have them, they can. In many cases, the scarf is better, it's thicker, depending on the material, it's thicker."

Trump's comments came during his daily coronavirus task force briefing after weeks of debate about whether all Americans, or just those in healthcare settings or those diagnosed with coronavirus or directly interacting with coronavirus patients, should wear face coverings.

"Now a recommendation is coming out, we'll see what that recommendation is, but I will say this: they can pretty much decide for themselves," Trump said.

Sources say the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is planning to issue guidance recommending the general public use homemade face coverings while in public to allow for more higher-grade protective equipment like N-95 masks for hospitals and health care workers. During the coronavirus outbreak, healthcare workers are experiencing severe shortages in personal protective equipment such as face masks.

Sources indicate that the CDC guidelines say children under the age of 2 and people experiencing trouble breathing are excluded from the mask guidelines. Expected CDC guidelines indicated that the face coverings are not intended to protect the wearer, but instead to prevent wearers from spreading coronavirus in public. 

Dr. Deborah Birx, Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task, said Thursday that if all Americans wear a face mask, that could provide a "false sense of security," and cause them to cease practices like "social distancing," vigorous hand washing and avoiding touching your face. 

Nearly 90% of U.S. mayors who responded to a national survey released Friday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors said they lack enough protective equipment for their coronavirus medical workers, and 85% said they do not have enough ventilators for their hospitals. 

Critics say the Obama administration failed to resupply respirators in a federal stockpile and that the stockpile's 100 million supply of N-95 respirator masks was never fully replenished after 2009 swine flu pandemic.