CDC Updates Mask Guidelines: What It Means For North Carolina

NORTH CAROLINA — In North Carolina, COVID cases have fallen dramatically since the winter surge and federally, the Biden administration dramatically loosened federal COVID-19 mask guidance Friday as national case rates fall as well.

The bottom line: About 70 percent of Americans will be able to shed their masks while indoors.
The new framework categorizes counties by "low," "medium" or "high" risk. The CDC isn't recommending mask-wearing in the first two categories, except among people who have underlying health conditions that put them at high risk for COVID-19.

According to North Carolina state health officials, numbers are moving in "the right direction."

North Carolina health officials now include a timetable on when to consider not wearing a mask in both schools and in public.

• If trends continue to improve, NCDHHS recommends schools and local governments consider moving to voluntary masking beginning March 7, 2022.
• Because well-fitting masks provide extra protection, you may still choose to wear one. Businesses should make the best decisions for their employees and customers.
• Please be respectful of others who choose to wear a mask.
• Masks are still required in places like health care, long-term care and public transportation like airplanes. This is because of the setting or federal regulations.

NCDHHS recommends still wearing a mask in the following situations:

• You are at high risk for severe illness.
• You are unvaccinated or not up-to-date on your vaccines.
• You have COVID-19 or were exposed to the virus.
• You want an added layer of protection.
• You are in a high-risk setting (example: health and long-term care; correctional facility; homeless shelter).
• You are using public or school transportation

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously recommended that people wear masks in areas with substantial or high transmission — roughly about 95 percent of U.S. counties, according to the latest data. The new guidance comes as the virus becomes endemic and the Biden administration focuses on preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19 rather than all instances of infection.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky tweeted Thursday that the agency is shifting its focus to concentrate on preventing the spread of COVID-19 to minimize the strain on the health care system.

In a White House briefing last week, she said hospital capacity is an "important barometer."
"Our hospitals need to be able to take care of people with heart attacks and strokes," she said. "Our emergency departments can't be so overwhelmed that patients with emergent issues have to wait in line."

In her Thursday night tweets, Walensky said community infection rates will determine when and where extra precautions such as mask wearing and testing should be targeted.
"Moving forward, our approach will advise enhanced prevention efforts in communities with a high volume of severe illness and will also focus on protecting our healthcare systems from being overwhelmed," she tweeted.

The omicron variant of the coronavirus is highly contagious, but generally causes less severe COVID-19 illnesses than other variants, especially among people who are fully vaccinated and boosted, data shows.