Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Chief Warns It's Too Early To Drop Mask Requirements
Reuters: U.S. CDC Stands By K-12 School Masking Guidance As States Relax Rules
With COVID-19 cases still high nationwide, "now is not the moment" to drop mask mandates in schools and other public places, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told Reuters on Tuesday. Her comments follow announcements by officials in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, California and Oregon that they plan to lift indoor mask mandates for K-12 public schools and other indoor spaces in coming weeks, seeking a return to normalcy as infections spurred by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus ebb. "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 said in an interview. (Steenhuysen and O'Donnell, 2/8)
NBC News: States Are Beginning To Lift Mask Mandates. CDC Data Suggest It's Too Early
According to data from the CDC, people in more than 3,200 counties — or 99 percent of the country — should be wearing masks regardless of their vaccination status. The CDC suggests wearing masks in places where the new case rate is higher than 50 cases per 100,000 or the testing positivity rate exceeds 8 percent. (Chiwaya, 2/8)
States, cities and counties weigh their options —
The New York Times: New York Is Lifting Mask Mandate, Too
Gov. Kathy Hochul will drop New York’s stringent indoor mask mandate on Wednesday, ending a requirement that businesses ask customers for proof of full vaccination or require mask-wearing at all times, and marking a turning point in the state’s coronavirus response, according to three people briefed on her decision. The decision will eliminate a rule that prompted legal and interpersonal clashes over mask wearing, especially in conservative parts of New York. It was set to expire on Thursday and would have required renewing. (Ferre-Sadurni and Paybarah, 2/9)
Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Keeps Mask Mandate Even As O.C., Others Drop It
Los Angeles County is probably weeks away from lifting its indoor mask mandate, and at the latest could ease the order by the end of April — unless a new coronavirus variant poses a threat. There are two triggers that could result in L.A. County easing its indoor mask mandate, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer announced Tuesday. The first is the county entering a “moderate” rate of transmission, in which cases fall below 730 a day for two consecutive weeks, Ferrer said. (Lin II and Money, 2/8)
Bay Area News Group: Santa Clara County Won't Be Loosening Mask Rules Just Yet
Santa Clara County won’t be making any changes to its mask rules for now, despite a decision Monday by the state to loosen its order. During a Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Public Health Director Dr. Sara Cody said that her office was still reviewing figures before they change any policies. “As you know, we are always seeking to do what we can to be the most protective but also flexible,” said Cody during Tuesday’s meeting in response to a question from Board President Mike Wasserman. “We are looking at our data and where we are in the omicron wave and just going through the process that we usually do and don’t have a decision to share from this point.” (Greschler and Mukherjee, 2/8)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ben Weston Says It's Time To Talk About Ending COVID-19 Mask Mandates
As COVID-19 metrics continue to decline both nationally and locally, Milwaukee officials believe now is the time to begin discussing school mask mandates and the citywide mask mandate currently active. "Certainly I think it's time to start having these discussions. It may not be time to drop the masking requirements, but it's time to start the discussions," said Ben Weston, chief health policy advisor for Milwaukee County, during Tuesday's COVID-19 media briefing. (Bentley, 2/8)
In related news about mask mandates —
NBC News: Mask Mandates: Will A Mask Protect Me Even If No One Else Is Wearing One?
Though most health experts agree universal masking, along with vaccinations, remains the best public health strategy against the spread of the virus, people can still benefit from wearing a mask even if no one else around them is. ... However, since the omicron variant is so contagious and it is still spreading so widely in the U.S., the protection from the mask may be a bit less, regardless of one's vaccination status, said Cheryl Healton, dean of the New York University School of Global Public Health. (Lovelace Jr., 2/8)
CBS News: PPE Litter Unmasked: Mandates Increase Mask Litter, Hurt Environment, Study Shows
While federal mask mandates during the coronavirus pandemic were designed to protect the public and reduce the spread of COVID-19, they had another unintended outcome, too: all those used masks piling up as litter. That's according to a new research study published in the online monthly journal Nature Sustainability. Mask litter was nearly nonexistent before the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in universal masking for everyone, and not just among medical, construction or other professionals. "As soon as masks were recommended or mandates came out, mask litter started to appear," said Keiron Roberts, a professor of sustainability at the University of Portsmouth in England and lead author of the study. (Cerullo, 2/8)
