According to the latest calculations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 70 percent of the U.S. population lives in areas where mask wearing is not recommended, including green spaces and district schools. .yellow.
On February 25, the top U.S. health agency adjusted its guidelines for wearing masks to prevent the COVID-19 epidemic, under which most people in the country will not have to wear masks in indoor public spaces. . . , including current students.
Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in an interview with the media that the United States is now more capable of responding to the epidemic and has many tools to protect. The community is against it. Pandemic, in which there is a superior calculation based on parameters to determine whether people need to wear masks.
Under previous guidance, officials used infection rate parameters, with 95 percent of the country at high or significant risk of infection, and continued to recommend that people wear masks. Page.
In the new guidance, CDC uses both hospitalization and response parameters and created a “community-level COVID-19” rating scale.
According to new calculations, more than 70% of the U.S. population currently lives in areas where mask wearing is not recommended, including schools in green and yellow zones.
However, the new guidelines do not apply to transportation systems. People can look for green, yellow or orange areas on the country map on the CDC website.
The CDC has issued new guidance amid growing calls in recent weeks to lift the requirement to wear masks in schools amid concerns about harm to social and emotional development. . and children’s education.
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Mr Walenksy said the new guidelines could be adjusted if new variants or outbreaks emerge. Federal regulations will be re-evaluated when the expiration date is expected to expire in mid-March.
Currently, the United States is gradually overcoming the latest wave of diseases caused by Omicron mutations. Although it spreads quickly, the variant is thought to cause milder disease in people who have been vaccinated or who already have the disease.
Currently, about 65% of the U.S. population is vaccinated against essential diseases.
The domestic supply of high-quality N95 masks has also met demand, especially for those with weakened immune systems.
Before issuing federal guidance, some states dropped mask requirements or arranged a transition period to treat COVID-19 as endemic.