US: Even as COVID-19 cases surge, Trump says he will not order all Americans to wear masks

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the United States continue to surge as the country has emerged as the hotspot of the pandemic outbreak. Even amid the rising number of cases, US President Donald Trump has now said that he will not consider a national mandate requiring all American people to wear masks to combat the spread of coronavirus.

On a day when the coronavirus cases in the United States rose by over 70 thousand, Trump said in an interview with Fox News, "No I want people to have a certain freedom, and I don't believe in that," when asked if he would consider the move to make wearing masks compulsory.

Notably, the wearing of face masks in the US has become a contentious issue in recent times, as the White House and public health officials have frequently differed over the idea of the citizenry having to wear masks in order to combat the spread of the virus.

States and localities have been choosing conflicting strategies in the face of surging coronavirus cases.

US' top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has often differed with Trump publicly on the matter of handling the coronavirus pandemic, has said that he "would urge the leaders - the local political leaders in states and cities and towns - to be as forceful as possible in getting your citizenry to wear masks".

Health officials themselves have changed their stance over time as more research regarding the coronavirus pandemic outbreak came to light. Fauci, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organisation (WHO) had all advised earlier on in the year that it was not mandatory to wear face masks to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

However, as time progressed, the health officials amended their earlier stances and agreed that wearing face masks is critical in stopping the spread of the virus, in light of recent information available to researchers that shows how rapidly the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus spreads.

WHO in June also reversed its guidance. The global health agency now says countries should urge the public to wear fabric masks where there's the widespread transmission of the virus and where physical distancing is difficult.

But Trump seems to be quoting outdated statements from the public health officials in still insisting that he would not consider a federal mask mandate.