Backtrack: Trump administration now says public should wear masks

But as the pandemic has spread globally, many experts have decided the opposite and recommend using even makeshift coverings so as not to take away surgical masks from healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients.

“Because scientists cannot rule out with complete confidence that this coronavirus can be spread easily in the air, even outdoors, we believe it’s most prudent to promote face covering in all public settings,” a group of doctors wrote in the New York Times Thursday.

Mask advocates note that many Asian countries suffered less in the pandemic and embraced universal mask-wearing. Several European countries, including Austria and Slovakia, have also made masks compulsory in recent days.

Adams this week abandoned his previous stance, saying facial coverings could prevent asymptomatic transmission.

Trump has repeatedly said people could wrap scarves around their mouths.

Yet Dr. Deborah Birx, the coronavirus task force response coordinator, sounded skeptical Thursday about recommending masks for everyone and stressed that doing so should not supplant the other guidelines on social distancing.

“We don’t want people to get an artificial sense of protection because they are behind a mask,” she said. “So we don’t want people to feel like, ‘I’m wearing a mask, I am protected, and I’m protecting others.’ You may be protecting others, but don’t get a false sense of security that that mask is protecting you exclusively from getting infected because there are other ways that you can get infected because of the number of asymptomatic and mild cases that are out there.”

Infections worldwide passed 1 million Thursday, and about 1 in 4 of those cases are in the United States, where nearly 6,000 people have died from the disease, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

The pandemic has massively damaged the labor market. More than 6.6 million workers applied for unemployment insurance last week, the Labor Department reported, by far the record. In the past two weeks alone, 10 million workers have claimed benefits, which is 6% of the total workforce. Unemployment probably already tops 10%, the worst mark of the Great Recession. The true extent of joblessness won’t be seen in monthly reports for weeks. The report for March is due Friday morning, but its reference period comes from before the mass layoffs.

A big concern is how people without health insurance, especially those who don’t get it through their employers, will pay for care if they get the virus. Trump said his administration may pay hospitals directly for caring for coronavirus patients rather than reopening Obamacare exchanges. Vice President Mike Pence said a portion of the $100 billion for hospitals in the recent $2 trillion recovery package may be used in this way.

Despite the dire situation, Wisconsin remains due to hold its Democratic presidential primary next week. A federal judge ruled Thursday that the election could take place despite fears of infections at polling places.

Small businesses are supposed to have access to rescue loans in the “phase three” bill starting Friday, although banks reportedly fear that the Treasury and the Small Business Administration won’t be ready. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the program would be “up and running tomorrow” but that not all businesses would get money immediately.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced plans to create a congressional oversight panel to monitor the administration of rescue loans, a step that angered Trump and House Republicans.

Two cruise ships with passengers diagnosed with the coronavirus have docked in Florida. Passengers will disembark, according to ABC Action News Tampa Bay, ending a standoff with officials about handling the sick. The cruise line company Holland America said 45 passengers who have the coronavirus will stay on the ships to recover. Another 10 passengers will go to a Fort Lauderdale hospital for care.