New Delhi, April 4 -- On Friday, news reports in the US said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was considering asking all Americans to wear masks, even if made only of cloth, when they went out. As the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the world marched past the 1-million mark, the extent to which the World Health Organization (WHO) messed up was once again brought sharply into focus. On April 1, experts from the US National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said in a report to the White House that even breathing or talking could release tiny particles carrying the SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes Covid-19. This is very different from the earlier understanding that masks weren't necessary. WHO said they weren't. Many others concurred. There was even a comic strip explaining why everyone need not wear a mask which did the rounds on social media. Well, guess what? Everyone was wrong. On Friday, US President Donald Trump tweeted: "We hit 3M hard today after seeing what they were doing with their masks. 'P Act' all the way. Big surprise to many in government as to what they were doing - will have a big price to pay." 3M is one of the world's biggest mask manufacturers and makes 400 million of them a year. It also exports them. Trump's tweet came several hours after he said he was invoking the Defence Production Act to secure more masks and essential medical equipment from manufacturers. As this writer pointed out on March 22, "countries will start hoarding strategic resources at a national level. It could be oil; it could be lithium; or it could be medical equipment and drugs. Expect every country in the world to start building reserves of these, and also encouraging (and perhaps mandating) their companies to start manufacturing these - locally."...