Entilators will be taken from certain New York hospitals and redistributed to the worst-hit parts of the state under an order to be signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo. New York saw its highest single-day increase in deaths, up by 562 to 2,935 – nearly half of all virus-related US deaths recorded yesterday. The White House may advise those in virus hotspots to wear face coverings in public to help stem the spread mid deepening crisis, top health official Dr Anthony Fauci has said he believes all states should issue stay-at-home orders. “I don’t understand why that’s not happening,” Dr Fauci told CNN 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. Should more of us wear face masks? Why some countries wear face masks and others don’t Coronavirus: Are homemade face masks safe? The comments from Dr Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared to contradict those of President 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. What’s the debate over masks? Both the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are reassessing their guidance on face masks, as experts race to find ways to fight the highly contagious virus. Covid-19 is carried in airborne droplets from people coughing or sneezing, but there is some dispute over how far people should distance themselves from each other, and whether masks are useful when used by the public.