The Pentagon has issued guidance on personnel wearing face coverings, after U.S. health officials recommended the step for Americans.
“Effective immediately, to the extent practical, all individuals on DoD property, installations, and facilities will wear cloth face coverings when they cannot maintain six feet of social distance in public areas or work centers,” the policy says.
“We want to take every measure to protect our troops,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on ABC’s “This Week” broadcast.
Brett Crozier, the Navy captain who was removed from command of the coronavirus-infected aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, has tested positive for Covid-19, according to the New York Times, which cites two of his Naval Academy classmates.
Esper said it’s not always possible for troops to exercise social distancing by staying 6 feet apart, especially on submarines. The Defense Department has to take other measures, and Esper said he trusts commanders and officers to do that.
Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are recommending the use of non-surgical-grade cloth masks as a voluntary measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. President Donald Trump said he did not plan to wear one himself.
“It’s only a recommendation,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday. “You don’t have to do it.”
Officials in hard-hit areas such as New York last week told residents they should cover their faces when they’re outside, while also continuing to severe limiting time outside and practicing social distancing when they do.
via newsmax
I think a lot of people are beginning to doubt the wisdom of the CDC beyond being able to count cases and deaths. Four weeks ago CDC experts told the public that wearing a mask was overkill and would not protect anyone from getting CoVid-19 and “if you do not have symptoms, it would actually be a non-essential and would not stop you from contracting the disease.” Some officials even said that it would be giving people false hope and their social distancing/group size rules would be thought unnecessary. Now, they are telling you even a homemade cloth mask may stop the virus? What changed in four weeks?