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CDC planning to loosen mask guidance: report

The CDC said Wednesday it will loosen COVID-19 mask guidance “soon” — possibly within weeks — as the White House discordantly announced plans to roll out masks for kids.

CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the health agency will consider the number of severe cases and hospital capacities as “a barometer” for scrapping mask recommendations in some areas.

“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,” Walensky said at a White House COVID-19 press conference.

“We are looking at an overview of much of our guidance — and masking in all settings will be a part of that,” she said. “We’ll soon put guidance in place.”

The White House has reportedly urged the CDC to update the guidance ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1.

A general view of a "face covering required" sign on the door of a pastry shop in the Little Italy section of New York, NY on February 10, 2022.
The CDC is reportedly planning to loosen its current mask guidance. Christopher Sadowski

Despite the push, White House COVID test coordinator Dr. Thomas Inglesby said the Biden administration has also invested in high quality masks for kids.

“We are now in the process of planning for the distribution of masks for children. And we’ll have more to say about that in the days ahead. But there’s a commitment to do that,” Inglesby said.

The move to loosen mask guidance, which has yet to be finalized, comes after various states — including New York — dropped indoor mask mandates for businesses earlier this month as cases and hospitalizations fueled by the Omicron variant started declining.

New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Oregon and California were among the other states to announce the lifting of mask mandates last week.

A sign requiring mask use is seen outside of a store in Union Station on July 30, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to discuss the indoor mask guidelines for states on Wednesday. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Dr. Anthony Fauci said states making changes to mask guidance was “entirely understandable.”

“At the local level, there is a strong feeling of need to get back to normality,” Fauci told MSNBC on Tuesday.

He added that the CDC would continue to adapt its guidelines as COVID rates continued to trend downward.