Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.

A week ago, this country was just about to hit 100,000 cases of coronavirus. Today, there are more than 100,000 in New York state alone.

For weeks through all of this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the surgeon general told us that we shouldn't buy face masks. Face masks are not useful for stopping the coronavirus, they said. In fact, we were told the masks could make us sick, and we need to save them for first responders.

Those two points didn't make sense together, and we said so last week. Now the government appears to agree and is advising Americans to cover their faces in public. It's a big change with big implications, and we'll follow it.

TRUMP SAYS CDC WANTS AMERICANS TO COVER FACES WITH CLOTH AMID CORONAVIRUS

The administration's mask guidance is a welcome change, but if you read it carefully you'll notice it recommends cloth coverings over your mouth, not necessarily medical masks.

The reason is that America doesn't produce nearly enough medical masks. As we have shown, some of the masks we do produce are made abroad and are not making their way to American hospitals.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR OPINION NEWSLETTER

Jared Moskowitz, the director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management, told us: "U.S. companies are telling me that the reason why our orders are being pushed down is because foreign countries are showing up with cash to purchase the orders, and when I told 3M that, not only did they not dispute it, I asked them if they've put out any guidance to prevent the behavior, and the answer was no.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

That's infuriating. Thank heaven, the president just invoked the Defense Production Act to ban further mask exports. He singled 3M out for specific criticism, saying, "We're not happy with 3M."

Earlier Friday, the CEO of 3M went on television to deny that his company has done anything wrong and said 3M is doing all it can to fight price gouging and unauthorized resale, and that the company is increasing its production.

Adapted from Tucker Carlson's monologue from "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on April 3, 2020.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM TUCKER CARLSON