The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will loosen COVID-19 restrictions and recommendations for face masks Friday.
What’s happening: The CDC will make a change to weigh metrics like hospital capacity and COVID-19 admissions instead of COVID-19 case numbers, The Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: The CDC’s intent is to make it so “more people can feel comfortable going maskless in indoor public spaces,” per The Washington Post.
Catching up quick: Experts have been discussing the CDC changing its mask mandate as COVID-19 cases continue to dwindle across the U.S.
Yes, but: CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that masks were an important way to stop the spread, even as cases dwindled.
- “We must consider hospital capacity as an additional important barometer. We want to give people a break from things like mask wearing when these metrics are better and then have the ability to reach for them again should things worsen,” she said.