As some U.S. states look to start reopening their coronavirus-battered economies amid protests from supporters of President Donald Trump anxious to get back to work, hardest hit New York state began mandating the wearing of masks or face coverings in public to contain the pathogen’s spread.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday ordered residents to wear masks in certain settings to combat the coronavirus outbreak, even as states spared the worst mulled a partial lifting of restrictions on business and social life by May 1.
The global scramble to secure face masks to shield frontline workers from the coronavirus has turned the marketplace into the “Wild West”, with the United States often ready to outbid buyers who have already signed deals, European officials say.
In response to calls for personal protective equipment for health care workers and other front-line responders battling the COVID-19 pandemic, Merck & Co. Inc. is donating 300,000 masks to New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. Merck already donated 500,000 masks for use in New York City.
