NURSING unions in the US have launched a scathing social-media campaign blasting the government’s failure to provide protective equipment for health workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Nurses have been asked by President Donald Trump’s administration to wear bandannas and scarves over their faces if they cannot find masks and respirators while testing and treating patients with Covid-19.

The US faces an extreme shortage of the protective equipment needed to stop the spread of the disease, despite the country becoming the new epicentre of the global pandemic with more than 55,000 confirmed cases.