PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to loosen its indoor masking guidelines for states soon. The agency’s update could come as early as next week.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that, as states begin to lessen their requirements, "we want to give people a break from things like mask-wearing when these metrics are better."
However, an estimated 9,000 people in Pennsylvania have died of COVID-19 since Dec. 1, the fourth-highest total in the nation.
While the death rate has been declining since late January, easing some pressure on strained hospitals, the Commonwealth is still averaging more than 90 deaths a day as of earlier this week, according to CDC data.
Those striking numbers, Dr. Walensky said in a press conference, are vital to consider when deciding on next steps.
"We must consider hospital capacity as an additional important barometer," she said. "Our hospitals need to be able to take of people with heart attacks and strokes. Our emergency departments can't be so overwhelmed that patients with emergent issues have to wait in line."
Our local health officials at Penn Medicine's Lancaster General Health say what will be a key factor is the number of COVID-19 case counts that continue to fluctuate. For now, they say they are decreasing rapidly.
"We can be certainly facing a new surge into the future," Dr. Michael Ripchinksi, a chief clinical officer at Penn Medicine's Lancaster General Health said. "We do believe the new Omicron variant is in the region and certainly, we continue to watch that but luckily cases are falling and I think that's a mix of continuing the practice, balance safety with masking, but also the most important thing is getting vaccinated, getting boosted and that's what we really have to be concentrating on right now for sure."
Some may question the notion of changing course as restrictions have been lifted before, however, Dr. Ripchinksi says many components play into the CDC's decision.
"What's the right percentage of those people who might have been vaccinated? he said. "What's the percentage of those boosted? What percentage may have just been infected with Omicron and now have some natural immunity? Over the next couple of months, coupling that with what is the transmission of the virus in the community, and that's why you're seeing the news from the CDC change, because we're seeing a greater reduction in that transmission."
Meanwhile, a new CDC forecast predicts a decline in COVID-19 related deaths over the next four weeks, the first time since late Dec. 2021.