CDC recommends ‘wearing a universal mask’ outside the home

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The CDC released its strongest mask guidelines to date during the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday, calling for “universal mask wear” in all activities outside the home.

The new recommendation comes after a week, when the United States experienced the deadliest day in the pandemic to date, with more than 3,100 lives lost as of Thursday alone.

“Compelling evidence now supports the benefits of cloth masks both for source control (to protect others) and, to a lesser extent, for wearer protection,” the report says.

Other measures including physical distancing, avoiding non-essential or congested indoor spaces, postponing travel, and more testing and contact tracing are also part of the strategy outlined in the report, which warns that “[t]The United States has entered a phase of high-level transmission. “

The new guide lists “the universal wearing of face masks” as the first recommendation to help stop the spread of the disease.

He says masks should be worn for all indoor activities outside an individual’s home, as well as during all outdoor activities when at least 6 feet of social distancing cannot be maintained.

He also recommends wearing masks in your own household if someone living there has tested positive for the virus or has potentially been exposed.

The CDC says masks are essential because about 50% of the spread of the coronavirus comes from people who do not have symptoms.

The report notes that “the colder weather, more time spent indoors, the current US holiday season and the silent spread of the disease” are all factors leading to the outbreak of the virus across the country.

Another recent update from the CDC determined that masks help protect the person wearing one, in addition to other people. CDC director Robert Redfield said masks could be the most effective tool in fighting the pandemic, even more than a vaccine.

Even though the United States sees a record increase in COVID-19 cases nine months after the start of the pandemic, mask wearing remains a divisive issue. Some governors, who initially opposed mask warrants, issued them in November when hospitals were nearly full, while others – including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis – still refuse to demand masks or to punish people who do not wear them.

The CDC’s latest report recommends that state and local leaders “issue policies or guidelines mandating the universal use of face masks in indoor (non-home) environments.”

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