Status: 07/28/2021 1:39 a.m.
When the US health authorities announced in May that they no longer needed masks for corona vaccinated people almost everywhere, it was considered a milestone in the fight against the pandemic. The delta variant now forced the experts to row back.
In a U-turn because of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, the US health authority CDC recommends wearing masks again in the future. In some parts of the country, where the virus is spreading particularly rapidly, people who have been completely vaccinated should also cover their mouths and noses in public places, including schools.
US President Joe Biden called for the new guidelines to be observed. “More vaccinations and the wearing of masks in the areas hardest hit by the Delta variant will allow us to avoid the kind of lockdowns, closings, school closings and disruptions we faced in 2020.” The US would not return to these measures.
According to a media report, Biden also wants to oblige federal employees and government contractors to have themselves vaccinated or regularly tested. Biden will announce the request on Thursday, the broadcaster CNN reports, citing a person familiar with the matter.
U-turn after milestone in May
The cities of Los Angeles and St. Louis had previously reintroduced the requirement to wear masks indoors because the number of new infections and hospital admissions had risen sharply. Currently, the US has an average of more than 57,000 new corona cases and 24,000 hospital admissions every day.
In May, the CDC no longer considered wearing a mask indoors for fully vaccinated people to be necessary for the vast majority of situations. The CDC only makes recommendations. Ultimately, the US states themselves decide. The new assessment also contributed to information that suggests that there is a significant likelihood of the virus being passed on to people who have been vaccinated.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky emphasized, however, “that we believe that the vast majority of transmission takes place in and through unvaccinated people (…)”.
The number of infections is increasing, especially in the south
The number of new cases has recently risen particularly sharply in many southern US states such as Florida, Missouri and Arkansas. The vaccination rate is particularly low there. Just under 50 percent of all Americans – 163 million people – are fully vaccinated. That is significantly less than the government had targeted for this point in time.
Unlike the number of new infections, the number of new deaths per day is still relatively low at just under 300. In December and January that number was regularly over 3,000.