Trump suggests wearing a scarf against coronavirus. The CDC isn’t so sure.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday recommended wearing a scarf over the face to prevent the spread of coronavirus, even though the efficacy of such a measure remains unknown.
Trump was asked during his daily news briefing whether he felt the public should be wearing masks when protective gear was in short supply for health care workers. The president responded that it wouldn’t hurt for the public to wear masks, but that scarves could be a perfectly suitable substitute if the wearing of masks en masse took them away from health care workers.
“It doesn’t have to be a mask. It can be a scarf,” Trump said. “What I do see people doing here is using scarves. And I think in a certain way, depending on the fabric, I think in a certain way, a scarf is better, it’s actually better.”
There is no evidence to support the claim that scarves are better than face masks in protecting against coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists homemade face protection, such as bandannas and scarves, as a last resort for health care workers who might be exposed to the disease when proper protection is in short supply.
But the agency specifies that those cloth substitutes cannot be classified as personal protective equipment because “their capability to protect [health care providers] is unknown.” The CDC recommends using additional face guards if health care workers must resort to using bandannas, scarves and other substitutes.
Trump’s endorsement of the public’s wearing protective masks diverges from his administration’s previous messaging, which has been reluctant to condone the public’s widespread use of masks.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams said last month that people could increase their chance of getting coronavirus if they wore masks without training. Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health, an immunologist who is a member of the White House coronavirus task force, said weeks ago that wearing a mask could encourage people to touch their face more, possibly increasing the chance of infection.
The World Health Organization also does not encourage wearing masks unless the wearer is caring for someone infected with coronavirus. Still, some countries that have been successful in curbing the spread of the disease — from South Korea to Singapore — have intervened to distribute masks to their citizens.
