The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is standing by the agency's mask
guidelines, despite the positive trends and a growing number of
states ending
their mask mandates.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky emphasized Tuesday that now is not the time to
change the recommendations or loosen restrictions aimed at preventing COVID-19.
The CDC still recommends all
schools encourage their students to wear well-fitting masks consistently while
indoors.
Hospitalizations nationwide
are still higher than they were at the peak of the delta variant.