The White House scrambled to provide masks for senior staff, two weeks before health officials advised the public wear them when out to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, The Washington Post reported.

In Mid-March, the National Security Council (NSC) at the White House made an appeal for masks from the Taiwanese government after they were unable to obtain the face covering through other measures.

This same time period saw White House officials and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention telling residents that masks were not needed to prevent the spread of the novel virus.

Hospitals were also reporting massive shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for their staff members.

An appeal to Taiwan was made by the NSC because the country reported a low number of coronavirus cases compared to other parts of the world.

"While the administration had detailed pandemic response plans, somehow those did not include maintaining a supply of masks for White House personnel," an administration official told the newspaper anonymously. "That was a lesson learned. We did look at buying some, but couldn't find available supply."

Taiwan sent 500,000 masks to the US at a time when the country had banned commercial exports of the face shield so it could be used by its own residents.

A majority of the masks sent by the government were placed in the Strategic National Stockpile to then get distributed among states in need. But 3,600 of those masks went to the White House - half for the NSC staff and the other half for the White House medical. The Taiwanese government did not reveal some of the masks sent would be kept by the White House, according to The Washington Post.

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It was then recommended two weeks later by the CDC for all Americans to wear a mask or some kind of cloth covering when out in the public to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

"While we would never discuss the specifics about safety and security measures at the White House, the Medical Unit and Military Office have the needed supplies to execute on long-standing continuity of government plans that essential personnel are protected by and briefed on as soon as they arrive," White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley told the newspaper, "and quite frankly, it's ignorant, naive or intentionally dishonest for anyone to suggest otherwise."

Even though there are sufficient masks for President Donald Trump to use, according to the White House, the president said at the time of the CDC recommendation he would not be wearing any type of face covering.