CDC: Many healthy Americans can take a break from masks

By CARLA K. JOHNSON and MIKE STOBBE
Associated Press

U.S. officials say most Americans live in places where healthy people can safely take a break from wearing masks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday outlined a new set of measures for communities where COVID-19 is easing its grip. They focus less on positive test results and more on what’s happening at hospitals. More than 70% of the U.S. population lives in counties where the coronavirus is posing a low or medium threat to hospitals. Those are the people who can stop wearing masks for now. The agency is still advising that people, including schoolchildren, wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high. The new recommendations don’t change the requirement to wear masks on public transportation.