The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention says mask-wearing continues to be a great way to forestall the unfold of respiratory diseases regardless that the pandemic-related mandates have fallen away.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky instructed reporters on Monday that mask-wearing is one in every of a number of precautions folks can take because the U.S. battles a confluence of COVID-19, the flu and a respiratory virus often known as RSV this season.
Additionally, the CDC is contemplating whether or not it ought to take into consideration viruses just like the flu or RSV when it determines the “neighborhood stage” of COVID-19 danger. The system is used to find out how a lot harm the coronavirus is doing in a given space, and whether or not to advise mask-wearing.
“One needn’t wait on CDC motion as a way to put a masks on,” Dr. Walensky mentioned. “We might encourage all of these preventive measures — hand washing, staying house while you’re sick, masking, elevated air flow — throughout respiratory virus season, however particularly in areas of excessive COVID-19 neighborhood ranges.”
She mentioned any face masking must be a “high-quality, well-fitting masks to forestall the unfold of respiratory diseases.”
Dr. Walensky mentioned the CDC continues to advise mask-wearing on public transportation, though a federal mandate requiring face coverings fell away within the spring.
Cities and states have additionally dropped their mandates because the nation tries to dwell alongside COVID-19.
Masks-wearing is much much less widespread within the U.S. than it was at the moment final yr, amid the crushing omicron wave, although some folks nonetheless select to put on them in public indoor settings.
As of the beginning of this month, solely 5% of counties had been in locations the place mask-wearing is really useful by the CDC attributable to excessive dangers from COVID-19.
