Brief:

The Center For Disease Control (CDC) has updated their guidelines and recommendations for masking for healthcare workers and facilities. This marks a major departure from previous guidelines and recommendations.

Background:

After over two and a half years of strict requirements for healthcare workers to continuously mask, the CDC has changed their current recommendations. Their new rules apply only to those in areas of “lower transmission” where the rates have fallen significantly.

The CDC website now states, “Updates were made to reflect the high levels of vaccine-and infection-induced immunity and the availability of effective treatments and prevention tools.”

Holly Harmon, senior vice president for the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, told CBS News: “After more than two years, residents will get to see more of their caregivers' smiling faces, and our dedicated staff will get a moment to breathe.”