The Biden administration is slated to significantly easy federal guidelines for wearing masks in doors on Friday, according to reports.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will announce a change in its federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against Covid-19 transmission, two sources familiar with the development told the Associated Press.
It will be a significant transition for because federal rules currently recommend about 95 per cent of US counties where transmission or caseload is high to mask up.
However, recently the CDC signalled “shifting of focus” as many US states are easing local Covid mandates after infections and hospitalisations have declined following a spike driven by the Omicron variant.
“At @CDCgov, we have been analysing our #COVID19 data and shifting our focus to preventing the most severe outcomes and minimising healthcare strain,” director Rochelle Walensky tweeted Thursday night.
Dr Walensky also said a change has been in the works during a White House briefing last week.
“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 said.
The two anonymous sources familiar with a change did specify how CDC guidance would affect US federal mandates requiring face coverings on public transportation.
The new guidelines will take into consideration not only the caseload but also the hospitalisations and overall local hospital capacity -- meaning less severe variants will not require mask requirement.
Under current guidelines confirmed infections cases are used to determine if countries fall into substantial or high-transmission categories.
The change is expected after nearly all US states are dropping indoor mask-wearing mandates as cases have dropped nationwide. Some states have eliminated the mandates entirely while others have retained mask mandates in places like schools and medical facilities.
