CDC Advises Schools Not To Discontinue Using Face Masks

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on May 15 that schools in the United States must continue to use face masks for the 2020-2021 academic year. It is because not all students will be fully immunized.

CDC's New Recommendation for Schools

According to the CDC, all K-12 schools "should implement and layer prevention strategies and should prioritize universal and correct use of masks and physical distancing." The advisory arrives after the agency stated fully vaccinated people need not wear face masks outdoors. They could also avoid wearing them indoors in most locations, reported The Epoch Times.

The CDC, however, stated all people in school facilities and buses must don masks all the time. A distance of six feet (1.8 meters) should be maintained between students and teachers, reported DW.

Previously this May, United States regulators permitted Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for usage in children as young as 12 years of age. According to CDC health advisers on Wednesday, the doses will safely allow children to attend camps this summer. The shots will also help affirm a more normal return to classrooms in 2022, reported King 5.

According to the CDC, face masks must be required in all classroom and non-classroom locations, including hallways, gyms, restrooms, school buses, etc. The 3-feet distance policy for masked students should also be imposed.

According to Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, at a White House briefing on Thursday, they all have anticipated for this moment when they can return to a semblance of normalcy. The CDC and President Joe Biden had been through pressure to relax restrictions on fully inoculated people in part to underscore the benefits of getting the doses.

Disney World and other amusement parks across the country have also updated their face mask policy. Face masks have been made optional in pool decks and outdoor locations at Walt Disney's Disney World in Orlando, Florida. It was made effective on May 15. However, masks are still needed for indoor locations and entering rides, as indicated in the guidelines posted on its website.

The new policy for fully vaccinated people still calls for wearing face masks in crowded indoor locations. These include planes, buses, prisons, hospitals, and homeless shelters.

Universal Orlando has also eased its mask advisory for people at outdoor locations. According to the company in a statement on Friday, face coverings will remain imposed at all indoor settings, including shops, restaurants, and public indoor hotel locations.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has prompted wealthy nations to consider donating novel coronavirus vaccine doses to the COVAX distribution scheme. It supplies vaccination to poorer countries before vaccinating children.

According to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the pandemic will leave behind permanent wounds on society. He stated the social effects of the coronavirus would not disappear with the final vaccination and the final measure.