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Trump news: President sparks mask feud with Trudeau as White House edits stockpile language after backlash at Jared Kushner claim

A person on a stretcher is removed from Carnival's Holland America cruise ship Zaandam at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, during the new coronavirus pandemic, 2 April 2020: Lynne Sladky/AP
A person on a stretcher is removed from Carnival's Holland America cruise ship Zaandam at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, during the new coronavirus pandemic, 2 April 2020: Lynne Sladky/AP

Americans are now advised to wear cloth masks in public, after the US reported more than 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the highest single day death toll in the world.

The Trump administration is formalising new guidance which to urge Americans to wear non-medical masks, made of T-shirts or scarves over their mouths and noses while outdoors – although the president said it would not be mandatory.

He also said he won't be doing it.

At his White House press briefing on Friday, he said: "It's only a recommendation ... I'm choosing not to do it."

Officials estimate between 100,000 to 240,000 people could be killed in the US even if Americans follow strict lock-down orders, while the White House has extend "social distancing" guidelines through the end of April. Dr Anthony Fauci, the administration's top health official on the coronavirus response, said he "doesn't understand" why every state hasn't issued stay-at-home orders, creating patchwork quarantine efforts across the country.

His frustration contradicts instruction from White House officials who have praised stringent measures in hard-hit states and cities but insist on respecting "statehood" in the face of the crisis.

The White House also announced that uninsured Americans — including potentially millions of people who lost their health insurance from their employer after mass layoffs in the last several weeks and days ahead — will not be billed for coronavirus-related healthcare, though details have not been announced.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said hospitals and health providers can bill the federal government, and uninsured people "will not be allowed" to foot the bill.

The president and Jared Kushner also are under fire for claiming that the national stockpile of critically needed medical supplies aren't necessarily meant for states to use, going so far as to change the federal website's language. Lawmakers pointed out that editing the website does not change the law.

Meanwhile, the US Navy has relieved the captain of an aircraft carrier on which 100 of the crew have been contracted the coronavirus after he raised the alarm.

Captain Brett Crozier, who commands the USS Theodore Roosevelt and its crew of 5,000, had sent a letter to the navy pleading for help with the outbreak board the ship, which was forced to dock in Guam last week.

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