Americans Told To Wear Masks As Spain Sees Signs Of Hope

Americans on Saturday came to grips with recommendations to wear masks against the coronavirus, while Spain added to hopes that Europe could be turning a corner in the pandemic with a second daily drop in deaths

Madrid, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Apr, 2020 ) :Americans on Saturday came to grips with recommendations to wear masks against the coronavirus, while Spain added to hopes that Europe could be turning a corner in the pandemic with a second daily drop in deaths.

China meanwhile came to a standstill as the nation where the virus first appeared held three minutes of silence to mourn the patients and medical staff killed by the outbreak.

Since COVID-19 emerged late last year, more than 1.1 million people have fallen ill. Nearly 60,000 people have died.

Across China, cars, trains and ships sounded their horns, and air-raid sirens wailed, as flags were flown at half-staff from 10 am (0200 GMT).

"I feel a lot of sorrow about our colleagues and patients who died," said Xu, a nurse who worked on the front lines in the central city of Wuhan, where the virus was initially detected.

"I hope they can rest well in heaven." China, where over 3,000 people have died from the virus, appears to be over the worst of its outbreak and there are signs of normality returning.

But large swathes of the world remain in crisis mode.

Europe accounts for the lion's share of virus fatalities, but America logged another rise in its death toll to bring the total to just over 7,100.

President Donald Trump's administration on Friday suggested widespread use of simple masks or scarves might help slow the spread -- even if the US leader said he himself wouldn't be following the advice.

"It's going to be really a voluntary thing," Trump said. "You don't have to do it and I'm choosing not to do it, but some people may want to do it and that's okay." Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health, cited "recent information that the virus can actually be spread even when people just speak as opposed to coughing and sneezing."The World Health Organization has been more cautious, saying the airborne threat was only known to occur during certain medical treatments.

The US recommendation will likely worsen an already severe shortage of masks in the United States and Europe, which both rely heavily on imports from China.