With more than 8,000 cases of the coronavirus in the state, Pennsylvania's governor is calling on citizens to use a mask to cover their faces when they leave home.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf instructed citizens during a Friday news conference to use cloth masks to cover their faces and pleaded with residents to save powerful N95 masks for healthcare workers as hospitals struggle with medical shortages.

“Two days ago, I amplified our social distancing efforts by instituting a statewide stay-at-home order, and today I am asking all Pennsylvanians to wear a mask any time they leave their houses,” Wolf said. “Masks help prevent people from sharing illnesses. But, they don’t do a great job at keeping people from getting sick; and, they’re not foolproof, so it is critical that our first act is to ask ourselves if we really need to leave our house. If we don’t really, truly need to leave, then we shouldn’t.”

After the conference, the Pennsylvania Department of Health posted guidelines for what type of masks residents should use to protect themselves from spreading the disease. "Homemade masks protect everyone else from droplets created by the wearer," read part of the tweet. "It's important that as many people as possible wear masks when leaving home."

On March 30, President Trump said he was open to asking Americans to wear protective masks when they are in public.