Coronavirus: US set to recommend wearing of masks

The White House is expected to advise Americans in coronavirus hotspots to wear cloth masks or scarves in public to help stop the virus spread.

President Donald Trump said such an advisory would not be mandatory.

Residents of New York, the epicentre of the US outbreak, have already been urged to cover their faces in public.

Top health official Dr Anthony Fauci has said he believed all states should issue stay-at-home orders, as the US death toll passed 6,000.

"I don't understand why that's not happening," Dr Fauci told CNN late on Thursday. "If you look at what's going on in this country, I just don't understand why we're not doing that."

"You've got to put your foot on the accelerator to bring that number down," he added, referring to infection and death rates.

The comments from Dr Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared to contradict those of Mr Trump, who has consistently dismissed the notion of a nationwide lockdown.

"It's awfully tough to say, 'close it down.' We have to have a little bit of flexibility," Mr Trump said on Wednesday.

New York City is the worst-hit area, with 1,562 deaths in the pandemic, Johns Hopkins University reports.