Coronavirus infection is on the rise across the country, with federal health officials on Friday urging Americans to take steps to protect themselves – using masks consistently, properly – and forcing local governments to adopt 10 pressing public health measures. Contains epidemics.
The guidance reflected the agency’s deep concern that the epidemic was spreading more out of control and many hospitals were collapsing, possibly disrupting health care across the country.
Agency officials have issued increasingly stern warnings in the weak week of the Trump administration, and President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has promised a new national strategy to get the virus back. On Thursday, Mr. Biden said he would urge Americans to wear facial ingots for 100 days.
For some experts, the CDC’s appeal appeared to enhance a more comprehensive and integrated national approach to epidemic control – consistent with the messages of Mr. Biden and his advisers.
Acting as the director of President Barack Obama’s agency, Dr. Thomas R. “We are seeing the CDC and other public health organizations awaken from their politics-loving coma,” Frieden said.
“This aligns itself more with the science that aligns them more with the Biden administration,” he added.
While none of the directives are new, experts said the growing number of cases has highlighted the need for a more uniform approach rather than the binding of restrictions adopted by states.
“The role of the CDC is to lead with science,” said Dr. Biden, an infectious disease specialist and a member of Mr. Biden’s Covid Advisory Group. “In the absence of strong national guidance from the CDC, we have received a variety of responses across the country, some more scientifically spiritual than others.”
CDC officials said that scientific evidence was being gathered to support the effectiveness of some hygienic measures, such as wearing a mask, and that the measure was urgently needed to prevent the spread, CDC officials said.
Although the agency issued all the recommendations in the previous guidelines, for the first time in the new summary the CDC released a multiple list of strategies for the states, which was a kind of war plan.
“This idea of a 50-state solution is completely impractical when we live in a nation,” said Jennifer Nuzo, an epidemiologist at Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. “We will not go through this epidemic unless we have a solid national approach.”
The new recommendations place a high priority on keeping schools from kindergarten through 12th standard open, saying schools should have both “last closing settings” and “first reopening” because they play a key role in providing meals and support services. Children. Closed income takes disproportionate tolls on low-income households, the agency noted.
Officials warned that eating in indoor restaurants was one of the “particularly high-risk situations” as diners had to remove their masks. The CDC urged communities to cover face-to-face on mass transport, something Mr. Biden also endorsed, and to expand routine screening to identify asymptomatic individuals responsible for about 50 percent of transmissions.
The first author of the CDC report was Margaret A. Failure to implement preventive measures will lead to continued spread of the virus and more unnecessary deaths, Honey said.
He stressed that Americans can take many important steps on their own: wearing masks, physically avoiding others, limiting their contacts, and avoiding unusual visits to indoor spaces.
“We want to make sure everyone is aware that they have the power to take this decisive step: wear a face mask and stop transmission, and maintain a physical distance from others,” said Dr. Kwid-19, a member of the agency. Said Honey. Emergency Response Team.
He added that the scientific evidence that masks can both prevent an infected person from spreading the disease and protect the user from infection is “compelling”. “Obviously, not everyone listens to how important it is,” he said. “It’s an action everyone can take to protect each other.”
The CDC said Americans should avoid outdoor spaces as well as crowded spaces. This includes rest restaurant rentals and may also apply to some with outdoor dining: the report suggests switching to an outout food service instead.
The agency said Americans should be screened for exposure to the virus and co-operate with the contact if infected. They must stay home and postpone travel, keep the air out and ventilate the rooms, wash their hands frequently and take the vaccine as soon as it is available.
Exercise should be done on the outside, with a mask and social distance. Working from a distance should be encouraged, and social gatherings should be limited.
In a shift, the CDC has urged states and local jurisdictions to encourage and enforce these practices, including the obligation to wear masks in public circles and on public transport.
The Trump administration blocked a CDC order in September requiring passengers to wear masks on planes, buses and subway trains and at transportation centers. Officials in some states continue to resist mask orders in public places. In Florida, where more than a million coronavirus cases have been reported, Governor Ron Desantis reiterated his opposition to the mask mandates earlier this week.
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The CDC has urged authorities to limit the use of high-risk nonsensical indoor spaces, erect physical barriers and visual reminders of the need for social distance, and begin planning now for the distribution and administration of vaccines.
The agency is also pushing for further investigation of essential workers who come into contact with people who are at high risk.
Despite the apparent mass vaccination, Dr. Honey stressed the need to implement such measures. “We’re seeing that light at the end of the tunnel, but it takes time to get there,” he said.
Dr. Joh of Johns Hopkins. Nuzo and other experts praised the agency’s new emphasis on prioritizing schools over places like restaurants and bars, a recommendation echoed by Mr Biden and his advisers.
The CDC’s previous guidelines, which were issued during the summer and were doctored by the White House, also forced schools to reopen, but were not balanced by the scientific assessment of the accompanying risks, said Dr. Nuzo added, “It felt more like a treaty. Than analysis. “
Taking all 10 steps in one document is helpful and pays attention to the message that no strategy can prevent the spread of the virus, experts said. But the document was thin on some details, said Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, medical director of the Special Pathogens Unit at Boston Medical Center.
Dr. Bhadeliya’s suggestion struck that there could be an integrated program to give people masks. “I haven’t seen that before, especially for those who are at greater risk,” he said. But, the CDC did not specify whether the states or employers would provide masks.
The new guidelines also emphasize the importance of improving ventilation in indoor spaces, where airborne viruses are a risk. Dr. Bhadelia said the agency can make best efforts in detail to reduce confusion.
She cited completely closed outdoor dining “cabins” that could result from vague guidance as an example of a misdirected solution.
The agency also did not specify what should be the triggers for the closure of restaurants or schools or which groups were recommended for further testing due to more interaction with others. “I would love to see a little more detail,” said Dr.
