Many Americans, including parents of school children, have been clamoring for an end to masking while others remain wary that the pandemic could throw a new curveball.
– Grace Thomas is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but still not ready to take off her mask, especially around the kids at the home day care she runs in Chicago.
Now, states, cities and school districts are assessing Friday's guidance to determine whether it’s safe to stop mask-wearing — long after others threw out such mandates and many Americans ignored them.Monday in response the the new guidance, although Chicago Public Schools officials said they will continue to require masks “to maintain health and safety measures.”
Christine Bruhn, 79, a retired food science professor at the University of California at Davis, said she’ll only take off her mask if she thinks it’s safe, usually around vaccinated friends. When she’s around a large group of strangers, “I’m wearing a mask,” Bruhn said.“I have been vaccinated and boosted but I don’t want to get sick,” said Bruhn, who also said she'll continue crossing the street to keep her distance from people without masks if she sees any of them walking toward her.
“My daughter is 13 and she wears a mask. It’s her choice,” he said. “Nobody bothers her about it and she wouldn’t care if they did.”In central Illinois' Effingham County, mask-wearing — and the animosity between those who do and don't — has plummeted, said David Campbell, vice chairman of the county board. He said about the only places he sees people wearing masks are hospitals and doctors’ offices.
The agency still advises people, including schoolchildren, to wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high, in about 37% of U.S. counties, where about 28% of Americans live. And those with COVID-19 symptoms or who test positive should wear masks, the agency said.