Feb. 25 (UPI) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to loosen its mask guidelines for U.S. residents on Friday, allowing most people to leave their coverings behind in public indoor locations.
Currently, the CDC recommends wearing masks in public indoor spaces like movie theaters and churches in areas with substantial or high transmission of the coronavirus, defined by case counts.
The new recommendations are expected to use new metrics that will place less emphasis on case counts and give more weight to hospitalizations as a key measure of risk. Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, director of the CDC, is expected to make the announcement Friday afternoon.
Hospitalizations due to the coronavirus have dropped by about 44% in the past two weeks and most states have already pulled back on their mask rules.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced earlier this month he will end his mask-wearing order for schools the first week in March. In neighboring New York City, Mayor Eric Adams said he plans on easing requirements there as soon as the CDC makes its changes official.
In other COVID-19 news, the World Health Organization said Thursday a new vaccination program in Africa will allow those countries to accelerate those countries’ efforts to protect their citizens.
The new program allows countries to request the vaccines directly from the WHO when they are needed instead of waiting for the organization to send the vaccines whenever they became available.
The program, which has been in place since January, has dramatically improved rates. Officials said they expect to have 70% of the continent vaccinated by early 2023 instead of an earlier prediction of August 2024.
