The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to announce Friday that most Americans can shed their masks in indoor public settings, as the agency changes how it measures the threat of coronavirus in local communities.

Until now, case counts have been the primary metric used to determine whether mask-wearing was recommended. That meant that roughly 95% of U.S. counties fell into that category.

But the new guidelines are expected to weigh hospitalizations and local hospital capacity, which have improved greatly since the Omicron variant first surfaced in the United States last December, two officials familiar with the process told the Associated Press. The highly contagious variant has been less severe than earlier versions of the virus, particularly for people who are fully vaccinated and boosted. Under the new guidelines, most Americans will likely no longer live in areas where indoor masking in public is advised.

The federal change comes as nearly all U.S. states are letting local mask mandates lapse as COVID-19 cases drop nationwide. Some have eliminated the mandates entirely, while others have kept mask-wearing requirements in place for schools and medical facilities, the AP reported.

Meanwhile, many companies have already shifted to requiring only proof of vaccination for workers, but masks are still mandatory while using public transportation, including flying on airplanes, The New York Times reported. Those rules are set to expire on March 18, but a flight attendants’ union is urging the Biden administration to extend the requirement until more Americans are vaccinated.

CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has said a change on mask guidance has been in the works for some time.

“We must consider hospital capacity as an additional important barometer. Our hospitals need to be able to take care of people with heart attacks and strokes. Our emergency departments can’t be so overwhelmed that patients with emergent issues have to wait in line,” she noted during a White House briefing last week, the AP said.

The White House has been eager for the CDC to provide an update on its indoor mask recommendation, although it doesn’t want to appear to be pressuring the agency, NBC News has reported.

Walensky has also said mask policies should be made at the local level, based on factors such as vaccination rates and hospitalization. Still, some states and local communities are shifting their strategies as more vaccines and new COVID-19 treatments have become available and the country moves toward a “new normal.”

Recent polls have demonstrated that the public’s patience with COVID restrictions is fraying. Nearly half of Americans surveyed thought the nation should “learn to live with” the pandemic and “get back to normal,” according to a Yahoo News/YouGov survey. And a poll from Monmouth University found that roughly 70 percent of Americans believe “it’s time we accept COVID is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives.”

More information

Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more on masks.

Source: HealthDay