In order to give people a break from mask-wearing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend masking indoors.
Joe Biden takes his mask off before he speaks.
The framework for monitoring communities has been updated by the CDC in order to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, Walensky said.
The CDC will continue to recommend wearing masks indoors in public spaces, including in schools, in areas with high Covid levels, now defined as areas with high numbers of severe Covid cases and where healthcare systems are at high risk of being overwhelmed.
CDC officials said that 37.3% of U.S. counties have high Covid levels, 39.6% have medium levels and 23% have low levels.
The count of severe Covid cases will be included in the CDC's count, but not necessarily because of Covid, in part because not all hospitals are able to differentiate between the two.
The shift was made in response to the omicron variant, which is less likely to cause severe illness than previous versions.
CDC guidelines used to recommend masking for people over 2 who are not up to date on vaccinations or who are in areas with high Covid transmission.
In April 2020, the CDC recommended wearing masks. The effectiveness of masking was demonstrated by the crew of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt who wore masks during the Covid outbreak. According to a study published by the CDC in February, the risk of testing positive for Covid was reduced by 83% with the use of N95 and KN95 masks. A University of Virginia research team found that cloth masks are more comfortable than respirator masks.
The CDC still recommends that anyone with Covid symptoms or who has tested positive for Covid be covered.
400 million dollars. The Biden Administration will distribute N95 masks for free.
California, New Jersey, Oregon and other states decided to drop state mask mandates after the CDC decided to ease masking guidelines. The public is split on whether this is a good move. A survey published February 8 found that 21% of respondents wanted the U.S. to open up and get back to normal with no restrictions.
The CDC will recommend not to mask indoors in most instances.
A study found that respirator masks were more effective than cloth masks.
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