Donald and wearing of mask: All you need to know

NEW DELHI: To wear or not to wear a face mask has been one of the most intensely debated topics in the US since the outbreak of Covid-19 diseases caused by the novel coronavirus in the country.
At the centre of the debate has been President Trump's reluctance to wear a face mask. The President feels that covering the face is a matter of "choice". However, on Thursday, the President, it seems, has had a change of mind when he, for the first time, endorsed the use of a face mask, saying that it (mask) makes him look like a Lone Ranger — and he likes it.
In the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, the US government and other health agencies in the country were not in favour of mandating the use of face masks for the public.
By the start of February, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) issued its first formal guidance on its website, saying that the agency "does not currently recommend the use of face masks among the general public." The US-based health organisation said that face masks should only be worn by infected people and by others who are in close proximity of a positive person.
“Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS!” Jerome Adams, the US surgeon general, had tweeted later that month.
They feared that the use of face masks by the general public could lead to a shortage of masks for healthcare workers who are fighting on the frontlines.
Some also believed that they may offer a false sense of security, that they are often improperly worn and, most important, that they likely would not offer much protection from the virus.
According to a poll, many American men regard wearing of face masks as "a sign of weakness," and President Donald Trump’s refusal to wear them has suggested that he perceives that masks are for wimps.
However, as the number of cases continued to rise in the country and across the globe, and evidence emerged that many patients are asymptomatic, the CDC changed its guidelines at the beginning of April. They recommended wearing a face mask by everyone who is in a public place.
However, the President remained defiant — despite increasing evidence that face masks could not only prevent the transmission of infection but can also help in unburdening the health infrastructure.
“The CDC is advising the use of non-medical cloth face covering as an additional voluntary public health measure. This is voluntary. I don’t think I’m going to be doing it," he said.
"I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don't know somehow I don't see it for myself. I just don't. Maybe I'll change my mind," he added even as his wife favoured the use of the mask as a protection against the virus.
"As the weekend approaches, I ask that everyone take social distancing & wearing a mask, face-covering seriously," First lady Melania Trump tweeted a few days after Trump's speech.
A Goldman Sachs report found that expanding mask mandates could also help the US economy.
“A national face-mask mandate could potentially substitute for renewed lockdowns that would otherwise subtract nearly 5% from GDP,” Goldman Sachs said. “The economic benefit from a face-mask mandate and increased face-mask usage could be sizable.”
Until recently, the President was of the opinion that people are only wearing masks as a way to "signal disapproval of him".
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump also said a big issue he has with masks is that people fidget with them.
In May, Trump flew all the way to Phoenix, Arizona, to celebrate the workers at a Honeywell plant churning out masks for healthcare workers during the pandemic. However, he refused to wear a face covering.
Later, addressing reporters in the Oval Office, President Trump said he did wear a face mask at a Honeywell plant in Phoenix that makes them, but did so backstage, out of view of the press, for "not too long" a time. "I actually did have one. I had a mask on for a period of time," he said.
Trump remained defiant even as his own party mates advocated the use of face covers.
Vice President Mike Pence earlier eschewed masks but now says that wearing them “is just a good idea.” Sen. Marco Rubio urged, “Just wear a damn mask.” Rep. Liz Cheney tweeted a photo of her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, wearing one, with the hashtag #realmenwearmasks. Good for them!
Even the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, said last week that he would pursue a federal mask mandate if elected. But Trump continues to frame mask-wearing as a matter of choice.
“If people feel good about it, they should do it,” Trump said.