
US President Donald Trump said he would not consider making wearing masks mandatory for citizens across the country tocombat the spread of the coronavirus.
Asked in an interview on Fox News to be broadcast on Sunday if he would consider a mandate, Trump said: "No, I want people to have a certain freedom, and I don’t believe in that."
Meanwhile, Americans debated mask mandates and the reopening of schools during the coronavirus pandemic on Friday as state and local officials imposed conflicting orders and cases rose by more than 70,000 across the nation for the second day in a row.
The United States recorded a total of at least 70,674 new COVID-19 infections on Friday after climbing by a record 77,499 a day earlier, the largest increase posted by any country since the pandemic started, according to a Reuters tally.
USdeaths on Friday rose by at least 912, the fourth day in a row that fatalities have exceeded 900 a day.