On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agency revised its face mask guidance for American nationals to protect against the Coronavirus pandemic. The health agency recommends putting on the most protective masks as Americans can while stopping short of supporting countrywide usage of N95 respirators.
CDC critics accused the agency of confusing and shifting mask guidance amid the outbreak. However, the health agency clarified on its website that individuals could choose respirators like N95s and KN95s, including removing concerns regarding the supply shortages of N95s masks. The CDC added that Americans should wear the most protective mask they can that fits well and that they will wear consistently.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its COVID-19 guidance for Americans on wearing face masks to protect against the virus. The federal health agency urged residents to wear the most protective masks that can fit well on faces.https://t.co/0yGakKvyj3 pic.twitter.com/J3QzVWLC0p
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Currently, the U.S. is leading the world in Coronavirus deaths – approximately more than eight hundred fifty thousand – even as it fights a wave of new cases amid the fast-spreading Omicron COVID-19 variant. Confusing matters is the refusal of some American nationals to get vaccinated. Nevertheless, the U.S. President said that his administration would start shipping five hundred million Coronavirus free tests to Americans later this month.
In addition, the CDC said that it wants to encourage people to wear face masks rather than push them to put on the highest-level face protection. At the same time, the agency said that masks provide the best level of protection. Further, it added that loosely woven cloth products provide the least protection against the virus.
Science of Masking
The Centers for Disease Control clarified that revised recommendations reflect the science of face masking, including what they learned during the last two years since the start of the pandemic. Recently, more Americans have been choosing higher-grade protection amid the rise in cases.
Moreover, the United States records around eighteen hundred deaths and seven hundred eighty thousand new cases daily – the maximum globally – and record levels of hospitalized patients. According to the Reuters analysis, the Omicron-related surge in cases appears to be slowing in areas that were hit first, including states in the South and Northeast. However, in Western states, new infections rose to eighty-nine percent in the last week compared with the previous week.
Source: Web
Last year in May, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated individuals could cover their face with coverings, as Coronavirus cases were then on the decline. However, in July 2021, the CDC said that fully vaccinated individuals should wear face masks in indoor public gatherings in regions where the virus was spreading rapidly. This week, the CDC said that 99.5 percent of American counties are working under face mask recommendations.
Record Sales of N95 Masks after Fauci Recommendations
Some United States N95 manufacturers said that they had record sales of N95 masks after Dr. Anthony Fauci recommended on CNN that Americans get the best quality mask that they can tolerate and that is available to them. N95 face masks that are adequately worn will filter out almost ninety-five percent of particulate matter in the air, avoiding anything greater than 0.3 microns from passing through.
This week, President Biden again surged Americans to wear face masks and noted that around one-third of Americans report they don’t wear a face mask at all. Several GOP-governed states have no mask requirements. On the other hand, some Democratic-leaning states like California reimposed indoor mask mandates.
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