White House Covid tsar Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that lifting mask mandates on children right now is ‘risky’ despite the nation reporting a 42 percent drop in coronavirus cases.
‘It’s understandable why people want to take masks off the kids. But, right now, given the level of activity that we have, it is risky,’ Fauci told CNN Thursday.
‘Now we could get lucky, cause the trajectory right now is going way down and it very well may be that if you take masks off of kids in the next week or so, it’s going to keep going down. But you have to be careful.’
Masks in schools have become one of the most controversial remaining Covid policies in America, with parents and teachers largely divided on the issue.
Fauci’s comments come as the Democratic-majority states of Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Nevada and Oregon have made the move to lift school mask mandates.
Leaders in California and New York have also started easing back coronavirus restrictions, but are continuing to mandate masks in the educational environment.
The move comes as cases were down nationwide another 42 percent over the past week, with the U.S. now averaging 128,989 new cases every day. America is now a month removed from the surge reaching its peak of around 800,000 cases per day in mid-January and there is nothing to indicate that cases will not continue falling.
Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Thursday that lifting mask mandates on children right now is ‘risky’ despite the nation reporting a 42 percent drop in coronavirus cases
Fauci (right) speaking to CNN Thursday said: ‘It’s understandable why people want to take masks off the kids. But, right now, given the level of activity that we have, it is risky. Now we could get lucky, cause the trajectory right now is going way down and it very well may be that if you take masks off of kids in the next week or so, it’s going to keep going down. But you have to be careful.’
Fauci sang a different tune Wednesday, saying it was time for the U.S to start inching back towards normality, despite remaining risks from Covid.
Joe Biden’s top medical chief argued leaders are facing tough choices as they strive to balance growing pandemic fatigue and the need to protect their citizens from infections.
‘There is no perfect solution to this,’ he told Reuters. ‘The fact that the world and the United States and particularly certain parts of the United States are just up to here with Covid – they just really need to somehow get their life back.’
However, he warned: ‘You don’t want to be reckless and throw everything aside, but you’ve got to start inching towards that.’
Fauci also acknowledged that although lifting restrictions could see more infections, maintaining strict Covid policies was also harmful.
‘Is the impact on mental health, is the impact on development of kids, is the impact on schools – is that balanced against trying to be totally pristine and protecting against infection? I don’t have the right answer to that,’ he said.
Cases were down nationwide another 42 percent over the past week, with the U.S. now averaging 128,989 new cases every day
Meanwhile, the Omicron surge is continuing to wind down as around three quarters of Americans are now immune to the virus.
Between the 80 million of Americans who have been infected by the variant, and the 92 million Americans that have received a booster shot, Associated Press (AP) analysis finds that 73 percent of people in the US now have some immunity to the Omicron variant.
Declining cases have many experts believing the pandemic stage of Covid may be over, and a ‘return to normal’ could be just around the corner.
The list of states to drop restrictions related to the virus is continuing to grow as well, as pressure mounts on governors to put the pandemic behind them.
This week, new Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is pushing his state’s legislators to end required masks in schools on March 1. The Republican, who won last year’s election in a surprise upset over former Gov Terry McAullife, made school issues like masking a key part of his platform last year.
Covid cases are dropping in 49 of 50 states, with Maine being the only state suffering an increase. America is now a month removed from the surge reaching its peak of around 800,000 cases per day in mid-January and there is nothing to indicate that cases will not continue falling
One of the key metrics being monitored by the CDC is daily deaths from the virus, a figure that is finally starting to decline after lagging behind cases for a long period of time. The U.S. is averaging 2,213 Covid deaths every day, an eight percent drop over the past week
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, also a Republican in a state generally considered to be ‘blue’, announced Tuesday that any school that has a student vaccination rate of 80 percent or higher was allowed to lift mask mandates as well. Masks will likely be removed from all indoor public spaces in the near future as well.
The two states join more than a half-dozen others that chose to either relax or lift entirely their mask orders last week in the wake of declining Covid case basically everywhere in America.
Federal leaders have been hesitant to follow, though. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) still recommends universal masking in public schools and requires people to wear masks when traveling on planes and trains.
Officials opened the door to lifting restrictions soon during a press briefing on Wednesday, though. White House Covid response Coordinator Jeff Zients indicated that the federal government is already looking to life beyond Covid.
Hospitalization rates are also declining nationwide
Between the 80 million of Americans who have been infected by the variant, and the 92 million Americans that have received a booster shot, Associated Press (AP) analysis finds that 73 percent of people in the US now have some immunity to the Omicron variant
‘As a result of all this progress and the tools we all have, we’re moving toward a time when Covid isn’t a crisis but is something we can protect against and treat,’ Zients said. ‘The president and our Covid team are actively planning for this future.’
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, did not indicate at the briefing that her agency planned to change guidelines soon, though there are reports that it is being considered and changes could come as early as next week.
‘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 explained.
‘If and when we update our guidance, we will communicate that clearly. And it will be based on the data and the science.
One of the key metrics being monitored by the CDC is daily deaths from the virus, a figure that is finally starting to decline after lagging behind cases for a long period of time. The U.S. is averaging 2,213 Covid deaths every day, an eight percent drop over the past week.
Covid cases are dropping in 49 of 50 states, with Maine being the only state suffering an increase. The Pine Tree state is still recording a very low infection rate, though. Cases have slashed in half over the past two weeks in 45 states.
Only on state, Kentucky, is recording more than 100 daily Covid cases per every 100,000 residents. The Bluegrass state has recorded a 45 percent drop over the past two weeks, though, down to 114 per every 100,000 daily.
The number of states still recording more than one daily Covid death per 100,000 residents has shrunk to six as well. Each of the states also have a vaccination rate of less than 60 percent.
Mississippi still leads the nation in Covid deaths, with 1.52 of every 100,000 residents dying from the virus every day. The Magnolia state also has one of the lowest vaccination rates in America, with only 51 percent of residents having received the jab.
West Virginia (1.32 daily deaths per 100,000 residents; 57 percent vaccination rate), Arkansas (1.24; 53), Oklahoma (1.23; 56), Idaho (1.1; 53) and South Carolina (1.08; 55) make up the rest of the group.
