WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The US government is now recommending Americans wear cloth face coverings on a voluntary basis to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus, US President Donald Trump said on Friday (April 3), adding that he himself would not be following the advisory.

In a daily briefing with reporters, Trump stressed that the new recommendation should not be seen as replacing social distancing measures considered key to slowing the outbreak, which has claimed more lives in New York state than the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.

"With the masks, it's going to be really a voluntary thing. You can do it, you don't have to do it," Trump said. "I'm choosing not to do it, but some people may want to do it and that's ok," he added.

Trump said that the US Centers For Disease Control and Prevention are not recommending the use of medical grade masks for healthy people who are not working on the front lines.