Los Angeles mayor urges everyone in his city to wear face masks

LOS ANGELES, California -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has recommended that the city’s 4 million people wear masks when going outside amid the spreading coronavirus.

Garcetti on Wednesday said people in the nation’s second-largest city who are performing essential tasks such as food shopping should wear homemade, non-medical face coverings, or even bandannas, as people in other countries hard-hit by the Covid-19 virus have done.

Garcetti said the look would be “surreal” but people will have to get used to it.

But he also said people still should stay at home as much as possible.

The mayor also said residents shouldn’t use N95 medical-grade masks, which are in short supply and are needed by healthcare workers and first-responders.