CDC director: Too early for states to roll back mask mandates “It's encouraging to see these trends coming down but they're coming down from an extraordinarily high place,” Rochelle Walensky said. Jesse Naranjo POLITICO

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Sunday said it was too premature for state officials to roll back mask mandates, arguing that while coronavirus metrics were trending down, cases and deaths were still too high.

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This is a precarious moment in the fight against the coronavirus in the United States. Case counts are declining. The death rate is slowing down. The country finally has a president who takes the crisis seriously. The vaccination rollout has been a bumbling mess, but the situation is improving, and it will get better still: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been activated to help administer shots, the Food and Drug Administration could authorize a third vaccine for emergency use by the end of this month, and President Biden is partnering with clinics in underserved communities to correct for early vaccination inequities.

n the meantime, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are pleading with the American public to strengthen its resolve on measures to reduce viral spread, like physical distancing, mask wearing and avoidance of settings where the virus is likely to spread most easily — think a restaurant’s dining room or a large, indoor wedding. The C.D.C. is also asking state leaders not to let up on closings and restrictions just yet.

Decline in COVID-19 Hospitalization Growth Rates Associated with Statewide Mask Mandates — 10 States, March–October 2020

(MMWR) During March 22–October 17, 2020, 10 sites participating in the COVID-19–Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network in states with statewide mask mandates reported a decline in weekly COVID-19–associated hospitalization growth rates by up to 5.5 percentage points for adults aged 18–64 years after mandate implementation, compared with growth rates during the 4 weeks preceding implementation of the mandate. Mask-wearing is a component of a multipronged strategy to decrease exposure to and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and reduce strain on the health care system, with likely direct effects on COVID-19 morbidity and associated mortality.  ...