CDC calls for return of masks in some areas

By Christine Haines and Jeff Stitt

chaines@yourmvi.com
jstitt@yourmvi.com

The Centers for Disease Control reversed course Tuesday on masking guidelines for people who are vaccinated and for schools.

The CDC is recommending fully vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the country where COVID-19 is surging, specifically areas in the substantial or high transmission categories.

Citing new information about the ability of the delta variant to spread among vaccinated people, the CDC also recommended indoor masks for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.

None of the counties comprising the Mon Valley were at the “substantial” or “high” community transmission level of COVID-19 Tuesday evening, according to an interactive map on the CDC’s website. 

However, there are a handful of counties in Pennsylvania with that designation, including Crawford and Lawrence counties in the northwestern part of the state, as well as in their neighboring counties in Ohio. 

There are some counties in the substantial and high transmission categories located in both the northern and eastern panhandles of West Virginia near the Pennsylvania border. 

Nearly all the southern states are in the high or significant transmission categories, according to the CDC.

In Southwestern Pennsylvania, the Mid-Mon Valley and Mon/Yough Valley counties of Allegheny, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland were all in the “moderate” category, as was Greene County, according to the CDC map.

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