New guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that 70 percent of Americans can now stop wearing masks, and no longer need to social distance or avoid crowded indoor spaces. The recommendations, published on February 25, 2022,  no longer exclusively rely on the number of cases in a community to determine the need for restrictions such as mask wearing. The new approach is for counties to take into account three methods for assessing the level risk regarding the virus:

1. New COVID-related hospital admissions over the previous week;
2. the percentage of hospital beds occupied by patients with COVID; and
3. New COVID cases per 100,000 people over the previous week.

Based on the above three factors, counties can calculate whether there is a is low, medium, or high risk to their residents. Only areas of high risk should require everyone to wear a mask. However, unvaccinated people should wear masks, even in low-risk areas.

To view the CDC guidelines, click here.