CDC may update indoor mask guidance as states loosen restrictions
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it may soon loosen its COVID mask guidance, as a growing number of states have already dropped indoor mask mandates for businesses.
"We want to give people a break from things like mask-wearing when these metrics are better, and then have the ability to reach for them again should things worsen," CDC director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday.
For now, the CDC's recommendations remain unchanged: Regardless of vaccination status, everyone should wear a mask in indoor public spaces in areas with high transmission. As of Wednesday, that's more than 96% of U.S. counties, according to the CDC.
But some aren't waiting for the CDC. In the last two weeks, 11 states and Washington, D.C., have rolled back their mask mandates.
This comes as the debate over masking in schools continues to simmer. More than half of the nation's top 500 districts require masks and more than 40% do not.
In Pennsylvania, the decision to mandate masks rests with local districts. At Conestoga High School outside Philadelphia, tensions have reached a boiling point. Dozens of students who believe masks should be optional staged a walkout on Friday.
Sophomore Ben Shapiro, who works at the school newspaper, told CBS News that there's "just a lot of, like, hatred coming from both sides directed at each other."
The district says the debate then spilled onto social media, leading to hundreds of online comments, then potential threats. The district decided to close the school Monday and move instruction online.
"Every period, it's sort of just wondering, is something else going to happen or is there going to be another walkout?" Shapiro said.
As a precaution, there's increased police presence on the high school's campus this week. The school district said in a statement that it has been exploring ways to move away from mandatory masking since January.
