While Americans may have celebrated the lifting of masking restrictions, those regulations could be put back into place, at least to an extent, as the highly-contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to gain more footholds across the country.
Los Angeles has already reinstated its indoor masking mandate as of Saturday, including for those who have already been vaccinated, and US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told ABC News that the City of Angels may not be alone for long.
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“Unfortunately, we are seeing rises, particularly among the unvaccinated in many parts of the country now,” Murthy said. “In areas where there are low numbers of vaccinated people, where cases are rising, it’s very reasonable for counties to take more mitigation measures, like the mask rules coming out of L.A., and I anticipate that will happen in other parts of the country — and that’s not contradictory to the guidances the CDC has issued.”
Murthy pointed out that the CDC guidelines give local governments “flexibility” to control outbreaks the way they see fit when it comes to mask mandates.
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The numbers are striking. The number of new cases among unvaccinated people is approaching 97%, with at least 58% believed to be the result of the Delta variant, up from just over 3% in May, according to ABC News.