Pelosi urges Trump to issue national face-mask order. ‘Real men wear masks’

Nancy Pelosi says a national order to wear face masks in public is “long overdue” in the United States, ABC News reported.

“My understanding is that the Centers for Disease Control has recommended the use of masks but not required it, because they don’t want to offend the president.” Pelosi said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

Pelosi, D-Calif., the speaker of the House of Representatives, urged President Donald Trump to wear a face mask in public.

“Real men wear masks,” Pelosi said, ABC News reported. “It’s not about protecting yourself, it’s about protecting others.”

But U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Sunday that it’s not necessary for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to wear face masks in public, NBC News reported.

Azar said Trump is “in a very unique circumstance” as “the leader of the free world,” according to the network. “He’s tested constantly and those around him are tested constantly,” Azar said.

Pence, speaking on “Face the Nation,” said the federal government is leaving decisions on face masks in the hands of governors and local officials, CBS News reported.

“One of the elements of the genius of America is the principle of federalism, of state and local control,” Pence said. “We’ve made it clear that we want to defer to governors..”

Azar also addressed the national surge in coronavirus cases Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“Things are very different from two months ago... So it is a very different situation, but this is a very, very serious situation and the window is closing for us to take action and get this under control,” Azar said, CNN reported.

Pence has canceled campaign events in Arizona and Florida as coronavirus cases spike in those two states, USA Today reported. He will still meet with governors in those states.

Officials in Florida reported 9,585 new coronavirus cases Saturday, and Arizona officials announced 3,591 new cases, according to the publication.

More than 10 million cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 499,000 deaths as of Sunday, June 28, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 2.5 million confirmed cases with more than 125,000 deaths.

The World Health Organization has declared coronavirus a global pandemic. In the United States, Trump has declared a national emergency.

This story was originally published June 28, 2020 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Pelosi urges Trump to issue national face-mask order. ‘Real men wear masks’."