With states, schools, cities, and other public places announcing an end to their mask mandates, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention director warned that removing them now is too soon.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky spoke about the decision to remove mandates, citing the nation's rate of new infections, which is still higher than pre-omicron numbers.
Walensky shared with Reuters that "Now is not the moment."
The director's advice comes following the announcements from Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, and Oregon that they would end mask mandates for students in the coming weeks.
"I know people are interested in taking masks off. I too am interested. That would be one marker that we have much of the pandemic behind us," Walenksy told the outlet. "Right now, our CDC guidance has not changed. … We continue to endorse universal masking in schools."
Dr. Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, shared earlier this week that while we are past omicron's peak, we are still seeing high case numbers. However, he added that we would start to see mandates come to an end despite this.
Related
Osterholm shared that whether areas are ready or not, mandates will end as people grow weary of the pandemic.
"People are over this pandemic, they feel as if it doesn't exist anymore," Osterholm said. "I understand that pandemic fatigue is a very difficult place to be."
In California, the universal indoor mask mandate is coming to an end, but students will still be required to wear them. However, officials are working to adjust the rules for children and teachers.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is also expected to announce the end of the state's mask mandate for business on Wednesday.
While case counts are lower than they were in previous weeks, the U.S. is still recording over 250,000 new COVID-19 cases each day, the Washington Post reported.
Walensky shared she is "cautiously optimistic" case counts will continue to fall below crisis levels, but she doesn't "think we're there right now."
Related
