CDC Updates COVID Mask Guidelines: What It Means In New York

NEW YORK — The Biden administration is expected to loosen federal COVID-19 mask guidance Friday as infection rates return to pre-omicron variant levels around the country.

The bottom line of the expected changes: Most Americans will live in areas where federal guidelines say they’re not required to wear masks indoors. In New York, the indoor "mask or vax" mandate was lifted for businesses in early February — except in schools.

On Friday, Hochul said: "We are evaluating the CDC's new guidance, and we will update New Yorkers on potential changes as we work through the details and coordinate with all stakeholders in our school communities across our state."

She added: "I want to thank the 75 percent of all New Yorkers who have stepped up to get fully vaccinated. I know these past two years have been difficult, but because New Yorkers are doing the right thing to keep each other safe, our state this week had the highest share among large states of fully vaccinated individuals. New York also leads large states in fully vaccinated 12 to 17 year-olds, and second among large states in fully vaccinated 5 to 8 year-olds."

Hochul has said the mask mandate in school was instituted to get kids back to school safely. Now, during winter break, many will be traveling. When the kids come back, test kits will be handed out; parents are asked to test kids on their first day back and then again three days later; if kids test positive, they should be kept home. By Friday of next week, the state will look at the numbers, Hochul said.

During the first week in March, Hochul said, the state will make an assessment based on metrics.
When asked why New York was not giving a date for that decision, Hochul said she believes the timing was "close" and all metrics would be considered. But Hochul said that if kids come back to school and the numbers are still low on Friday, March 4, it was "a very strong possibility" that the mandate could be lifted on March 7.

The "mask or vaccination" mandate, which went into effect in December, was lifted for indoor businesses based on the decline in case numbers, Hochul said. "The trends are very, very positive," she said.

Meanwhile in New York, Schools chancellor David C. Banks announced Friday that beginning Feb. 28, masks and face coverings will not be required outside on school grounds but will still be required for students, faculty, staff and visitors while indoors at school, according to amny.com.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends that people wear masks in areas with substantial or high transmission — roughly about 95 percent of U.S. counties, according to the latest data. The expected new guidance comes as the virus becomes endemic and the Biden administration focuses on preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19 rather than all instances of infection.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky tweeted Thursday that the agency is shifting its focus to concentrate on preventing the spread of COVID-19 to minimize the strain on the health care system.

Walensky didn’t say when the announcement would be made, though The Associated Press and other news outlets have cited unnamed sources saying the new recommendations would likely come Friday.

In a White House briefing last week, she said hospital capacity is an “important barometer.”

“Our hospitals need to be able to take care of people with heart attacks and strokes,” she said. “Our emergency departments can’t be so overwhelmed that patients with emergent issues have to wait in line.”

In her Thursday night tweets, Walensky said community infection rates will determine when and where extra precautions such as mask wearing and testing should be targeted.

“Moving forward, our approach will advise enhanced prevention efforts in communities with a high volume of severe illness and will also focus on protecting our healthcare systems from being overwhelmed,” she tweeted.

The omicron variant of the coronavirus is highly contagious, but generally causes less severe COVID-19 illnesses than other variants, especially among people who are fully vaccinated and boosted, data shows.

Daily U.S. COVID-19 infection rates are down to about 82,000 cases nationwide, according to a database kept by The New York Times, and hospitalizations are down about 44 percent. However, about 2,000 people a day still are dying of the virus, The Times reported.

Omicron infection rates in New York are dropping: On Thursday, Hochul said New York's 7-day average positivity rate stood at 2 percent, with the daily positivity rate below 2.5 percent for the past six consecutive days. Positive cases have continued to trend down over the past 47 days, since a peak on Jan. 2, Hochul said. Hospitalizations are also trending downward; 31 deaths were reported Wednesday, Hochul said.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.