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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States changed its position this Friday and they asked Americans to wear masks at all times, both when they are outdoors and indoors, except at home in certain cases.
The recommendation was not widely publicized by the CDC and, in fact, it appears almost hidden in one of the reports it publishes weekly on the relationship between morbidity and mortality.
In that report, the CDC warns that the US has entered “a phase of high transmission” due to the drop in temperatures and the arrival of Christmas celebrations, that drive Americans to spend more time indoors, where transmission of the virus is easier.
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Therefore, the CDC argues that it is “consistent and correct” to now recommend the use of masks at all times. Furthermore, they emphasize that the use of such protection is especially important when a separation distance of at least two meters from other individuals cannot be maintained.
The CDC also asks Americans wearing masks in their own home when living with someone who may be infected, either through contact with another person, because they have recently traveled or have a higher risk job.
Until now, the CDC considered that masks were not necessary outdoors, as long as the safety distance was maintained. Nor did they recommend its use among those who shared the same home.
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Currently, every minute, two people lose their lives to covid-19 in the US, where the total death toll exceeds 277,000 and more than 14 million cases have been registered since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.
This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) also recommended the generalization of the use of anti-covid masks in health establishments, as well as carrying them in closed places without adequate ventilation in regions with wide transmission of the coronavirus.
It was the fourth update of the WHO recommendations on the use of face masks since the pandemic began. On this occasion, “the main changes (…) are a greater use of masks in health establishments, and details on the use of non-medical masks for the general public,” indicated the WHO.
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These new recommendations are applicable in areas where there is a ‘cluster’ (group) or a community-level transmission of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes covid-19.
Under these circumstances, “WHO advises wearing non-medical masks indoors (eg in shops, shared workplaces, schools) and also outdoors, when the physical distance of at least one meter cannot be maintained ”.
On the other hand, the specialized UN agency recommends not using valve masks, which, like Transparent masks provide much less protection than conventional masks, as well as not wearing these during intense physical activities.
HEALTH UNIT
