The new coronavirus (Covid-19) could be brought under control within weeks if everyone wore face masks, American Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield said on Tuesday.
"If we all rigorously did this, we could really bring this outbreak back to where it needs to be," Redfield told the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“I think if we can get everybody to wear a mask right now, I really do think over the next four to six, eight weeks, we can bring this epidemic under control,” he said.
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In the interview, Redfield regretted that the face mask issue has become a political issue, citing US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence as examples. “In their situation, they could easily justify they don't need to (wear a face mask) because of all the testing around them and they know they’re not infected. But we need them to set the example” for the rest of the country, Redfield said. It wasn't until last weekend that Trump wore a mask in public for the first time.
As of 14 July, the US has counted 3,286,063 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and 134,704 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Globally, 12,964,809 cases were counted, and 570,288 deaths.
In Belgium, where wearing face masks became compulsory from Saturday in shops and some other indoor spaces where people gather, there have been 62,872 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, and 9,788 people have passed away from the virus.
The Brussels Times
