Melania Trump has shared a video of herself encouraging Americans to wear facemasks - just days after her husband, the President, told the nation he wouldn't be.

The First Lady said wearing cloth facial coverings was now a recommendation from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but not an alternative to social distancing.

Earlier this week, the President had been at pains to point out that the guidance to wear facemasks was that it was entirely voluntary and he refused to wear one himself. 

She shared the video on social media and wrote: "As the CDC (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) studies the spread of #COVID-19, they recommend people wear cloth face coverings in public settings when social distancing can be hard to do. Remember, this does NOT replace the importance of social distancing."

The USA has so far seen over 469,000 confirmed cases and over 16,600 deaths, with over 150,000 of those confirmed cases in New York alone.