COVID-19 mask mandates are ending across the U.S., and while many may take that as a sign that it’s time to quit covering up, experts say there’s a lot to consider before going barefaced in public.
Though cases are plummeting, deaths and hospitalizations remain high, proving COVID is still lethal. Even with the “milder” omicron variant now accounting for nearly all new infections, coronavirus killed more Americans in January than the flu has in three years, McClatchy News reported.
When going maskless in public, the risk is never zero — but depending on who you are, where you’ve been and where you’re going, and your vaccination status, there may be little to fear. Or there may be a dozen good reasons to keep an N-95 across your face.
First, consider the location.
A poorly ventilated gym packed with maskless people is a high-risk place to be, with the odds of catching COVID-19 as high as 67%, according to a published study, which provides risk percentages. Introduce masks into that same scenario and the chance of infection drops to 32%.
The fewer people there are, the more masks in use, and the better ventilated the location, the safer it becomes, according to the study.
Those who are not vaccinated or boosted are also at higher risk of developing serious complications from COVID-19 infection, McClatchy News reported.
People should also consider their family situation, Don Milton, professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, told Time magazine.
If there are vulnerable relatives at home, he recommends staying masked.
It’s a smart idea to keep track of the level of infection in your community, Milton said. If it’s climbing, slip on a mask before heading out.
“You want to see a positive test rate that’s very low: below 1%, like half a percent,” Milton told the outlet.
Going forward, there will probably be periods of time when infections are low and times when they increase significantly, like a seasonal ebb and flow, Dr. Erica Johnson told CNN.
“I think it’s pretty reasonable to expect that, as long as we’re dealing with this virus, we are going to see higher rates during certain times of year,” said Johnson, who serves as the chair of the infectious disease board of the American Board of Internal Medicine. “So we probably are going to have to go back to wearing masks multiple times throughout all of this. And I think we should be wearing masks right now, to be frank, but the time will come where we don’t need them.”
Despite a recent shift among state leaders to do away with mask mandates in most situations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is so far holding its ground on the long-standing advice it has given.
“At this time, we continue to recommend masking in areas of high and substantial transmission — that’s much of the country right now — in public indoor settings,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a Feb. 9 White House briefing.
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