US health authorities are debating whether to recommend face coverings for everyone when they go out in public.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media.

One internal memo for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that even simple cloth masks could help reduce the risk of virus transmission, the Washington Post reports.

President Donald Trump has suggested that individuals could "use a scarf".

Current guidelines say that masks only need to be worn by healthcare workers, the sick, and those caring for them.

There is currently a shortage of N95 and surgical masks in the US, with healthcare workers saying they have been told to reuse masks several times, or use bandanas when masks are not available.

There have been over 190,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, with about 4,000 deaths.