The federal government is no longer recommending universal face coverings in healthcare settings, according to new CDC recommendations released quietly last week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention executive order released Friday overturned nearly two and a half years of guidance saying face coverings are now only required in hospitals and nursing homes where COVID-19 transmission is high. .
Institutions can now “choose not to require” patients, doctors and visitors to wear masks at all times if transmission of the virus is low. The guidelines also apply to home health care and could be overridden by local actions, the CDC said. It does not apply to settings other than health care.
Caregivers who work with immunocompromised patients or in parts of facilities facing COVID-19 outbreaks should always mask up, regardless of transmission levels, the agency said.
Community transmission defines the amount of spread of COVID-19 and “is the currently recommended measure to guide certain practices in health facilities to enable earlier intervention, before the health system is overstretched and better protect people seeking care at these facilities,” the CDC says.
“Updates have been made to reflect the high levels of vaccine and infection-induced immunity and the availability of effective treatments and prevention tools,” the agency wrote to justify the relaxed guidelines.
The reversal of the guidelines introduced in April 2020 was criticized by some health experts who deemed it counterproductive.
“This nuanced ‘have your cake and eat it too’ approach hasn’t worked ONCE throughout the pandemic. People are hearing ‘no more masks!'” tweeted Jerome Adams, who served as the US Surgeon General for most of former President Donald Trump’s administration.
“The @CDCgov saying healthcare facilities can choose not to require masks not only puts vulnerable patients, but everyone else at risk as it also makes healthcare workers more likely to get sick,” the tweeted. Dr. Zachary Rubin, pediatric allergist and clinical immunologist from Illinois.
“There may be less access to care for everyone as we head into winter.”
Sixty-nine percent of U.S. counties were experiencing high transmission rates Wednesday, including the entire New York metropolitan area, CDC data shows. Seven percent of US counties were “high risk” areas as of September 22, the agency said.