"US New Cases Could Reach 200,000"‥CDC Considers Indoor Mask Mandate Again

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The U.S. government is expected to strengthen mask-wearing guidelines amid concerns over the COVID-19 Delta variant and the expansion of new infections. As new infections surge in the U.S., there are also concerns that up to 200,000 new cases could occur daily.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 27th (local time), CNBC reported that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will revise guidelines allowing fully vaccinated individuals not to wear masks indoors. The CDC is likely to mandate mask use even for fully vaccinated people in 'hotspot' areas where COVID-19 is spreading.

The CDC had lifted most indoor mask mandates for vaccinated individuals in May, except for certain places such as hospitals and public transportation, as well as outdoors.

Although the CDC and the U.S. government had emphasized until recently that they had no plans to revise mask guidelines, they appear to have changed their stance considering the surge in new infections and the increase in breakthrough infections despite vaccinations.

According to CNBC, U.S. federal health officials have concluded that some vaccinated individuals may transmit the virus to others at higher levels than previously known.

Earlier, on the 25th, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), hinted at the possibility of revising mask guidelines for vaccinated people during an interview with CNN, stating that it is "actively under consideration."

While the CDC relaxed mask regulations for vaccinated individuals, in reality, the number of unvaccinated people not wearing masks is also increasing in the U.S.

Because of this, major companies like Apple and government offices are postponing employees' return-to-office plans due to concerns about infections from unvaccinated individuals.

On the previous day, New York City, the state of California, and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs announced plans to mandate vaccinations for their employees.

According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the daily new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. reached 110,000 on the 23rd. This figure reflected the situation in Florida, which releases weekly new infection data every Friday, but it was enough to signal a sharp increase in new cases.

The number of new infections recorded on the 26th also reached 89,000, a 70% increase compared to 52,000 on the 19th, a week earlier.

Former CDC director Tom Frieden predicted in an interview with CNN, "If the trend of COVID-19 spread in the U.S. is similar to that in the U.K., we could see up to 200,000 new cases daily."