On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control recommended wearing fully vaccinated individuals again Face masks in indoor public spaces in areas with “significant or high” transmission rates of COVID-19.
The new CDC mask guidelines are based on earlier recommendations by the health authority, which were issued in May declared it unnecessary for fully vaccinated individuals to wear a mask inside. The shift comes as many parts of the United States are grappling with widespread outbreaks of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19.
“Information about the Delta variant from several states and other countries suggests that on rare occasions, some vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant can be contagious and transmit the virus to others,” said Rochelle Walensky, director the CDC, in a media conference on Tuesday. Although vaccinated people are able to spread the Delta variant, Walensky stressed that the vast amount of transmission of COVID-19 in the US is still through unvaccinated people.
As defined by the CDC, a county with a significant transmission rate has 50 to 100 cases per 100,000 over a seven day period; the high transmission is more than 100 cases per 100,000 within seven days. the latest numbers from the agency show that the majority – more than 63 percent – of U.S. counties are currently experiencing significant or high levels of virus transmission. CDC has a full breakdown of all counties across the country, organized into a color coded card.
“We have states reporting over 300 cases over a 7-day period, which is an exceptional amount of virus transmission,” Walensky said. Some cities, such as The angelHe had already implemented inner mask mandates for fully vaccinated residents.
According to CDC mask guidelines, fully vaccinated travelers planning domestic travel across much of the country should be prepared to wear a face mask indoors. These include cities and regions popular with summer tourists: Southern California, new York, New Orleans and destinations throughout the state of Florida. Most of Utah, Arizona, and Nevada are also seeing COVID transmission rates that, according to the latest recommendations, would warrant indoor masking. In these areas and those with similar transmission statistics, all travelers want to wear masks when engaging in activities such as eating in an indoor restaurant, visiting a museum, or in areas such as hotel lobbies or visitor centers.
Throughout the pandemic, face masks remained mandatory on federal government-overseen transportation, including on board planes and trains, as well as inside airports. This regulation prescribed by the TSA should apply at least until September 13th.
Before traveling to another city or state, travelers should check the latest COVID-19 policies and restrictions in their destination.
In large part, Walensky said the new guidelines were designed to educate travelers visiting potentially vulnerable families. Masking “is important, for example, in the case of a vaccinated person who may be visiting an immunocompromised family member,” she said. “We wanted to make sure they took the necessary precautions not to pass the virus on to them.”
As the Delta variant continues to spread, President Biden declined to withdraw travel restrictions earlier this week, the citizens of Europe, Great Britain, Ireland, India, Brazil, China, Iran and South Africa from entering the USA
“We at CDC didn’t make this decision easy,” said Walensky. “People are not only tired but also frustrated. We have mental health problems in this country, we have many ongoing illnesses and deaths in this country. In this regard, I know that it is not good news that masking will be a part of the life of people who have already been vaccinated. ”
We report daily on how COVID-19 is affecting travel. You can find all of our coronavirus coverage and travel resources here.
