“These guidelines might delay the response of states and communities to new surges until there’s already a high level of severe disease and death in a community, might ultimately lead to higher levels of severe disease and death,” says Alyssa Bilinski, an infectious diseases modeler at the Brown School of Public Health in Providence, R.I. All of which can be dialed up or down as needed to combat new surges, the agency said.īut there are drawbacks, too. And masking isn’t the only prevention measure recommended under the guidance: testing, treatments, vaccines and ventilation are also covered ( SN: 1/11/22 SN: 12/15/21 SN: 5/18/21). On the positive side, the guidelines are based on the most important measurement: levels of severe disease. New COVID-19 treatments also keep people out of the hospital or reduce the number of days they stay there ( SN: 12/21/21).ĬDC’s move brought both praise and criticism.

With more people across the country vaccinated or recovered from prior infections, the risk for severe disease and hospitalization is lower overall for most people ( SN: 2/24/22). “We’re in a stronger place today as a nation with more tools to protect ourselves in our communities from COVID 19,” she said. Now is a good time for such a move, Walensky said. COVID-19 community levels by county as of February 24 CDC CDC Fewer cases and hospitalizations per 100,000 people in the last seven days mean low transmission (green) while higher numbers indicate medium (yellow) or high (orange) levels. As a result, less of the country is now in the high level. The CDC’s updated metrics for COVID-19 risk take both case levels and hospitalizations in a community into account. The focus on hospitalization aims to provide a glimpse at whether local health care systems have the ability to weather a new COVID-19 surge, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said February 25 at a news briefing. Individuals can check their county’s COVID-19 levels using an online tool from the CDC. Higher case levels or more hospitalizations - both new admissions and beds filled - mark moderate or high transmission areas, and that’s when recommended public health measures, such as masking and testing, start phasing in again. Below that level of cases is now considered low risk, as long as the number of hospital admissions and percent of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients are also low. The new metrics raise case thresholds for wearing masks and other precautions to 200 weekly cases per 100,000 people. Case counts are just one of three numbers used to calculate risk.

With the new guidelines, the CDC shifted focus to levels of severe disease. COVID-19 transmission levels by county, February 20–26 CDC CDC Counties with 100 cases or more per 100,000 people or 10 percent or more of positive tests were considered at high transmission risk (red), with lower figures indicating substantial (orange), moderate (yellow) or low (blue). As a result, much of the country was in the high or substantial levels. The CDC’s old metrics relied on only case counts to determine COVID-19 transmission risk in a community. The CDC labeled counties that exceeded 50 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the past week or had 8 percent of tests coming back positive as places with substantial or high transmission. Under previous guidelines, case counts were the most important measure. Transmission levels of the virus hadn’t changed, but the way that the CDC calculates risk did. How could communities be in the Schrödinger’s cat position of simultaneous mask-on high and mask-off low risk?

Yet on February 25, just 37.3 percent of counties were considered high risk and in need of masks, the agency projected. The agency recommended wearing masks under those conditions ( SN: 2/12/21). counties had high or substantial levels of community transmission of the coronavirus, the CDC calculated. By one measure, in the week of February 20 to February 26, 91 percent of U.S. In the space of a breath, that county got the green light from the CDC that everyone could remove their masks.Ĭampbell County is not alone. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone wear a mask indoors in public places. One moment, Campbell County in Wyoming’s northeastern corner was an area of high levels of transmission of the coronavirus, a scenario in which the U.S.

New cdc guidance