US urges vaccinated people in high Covid-risk areas to wear mask

In US, vaccinated people have been asked to wear masks indoors. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky relayed the mask decision in a press call, citing new data that shows that while vaccines remain highly effective, rare breakthrough cases involving Delta have an increased risk of onward transmission. "In areas with substantial and high transmission, CDC recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in public indoor settings," she said. New CDC research showed that when a vaccinated person does become infected, their viral load is similar to an unvaccinated person. To stem the spread of the Delta variant, the CDC will recommend schools adopt universal masking, including teachers, staff, students and visitors -- regardless of vaccination status -- when they reopen in fall, she added.

President Joe Biden said the announcement showed that America needs to "do better" on vaccinations, adding that a mandate for the country's more than two million federal workers was now "under consideration." In a statement following the move, Biden said he would lay out new steps  to overcome a lag in vaccinations, which have stalled badly for months despite the fact the United States has the highest supply of any country. According to the latest CDC data, much of the southern United States is experiencing high or substantial transmission, while highly vaccinated parts of the Northeast are mostly experiencing moderate rates of community transmission. Substantial is defined as being between 50 to 100 daily cases per 100,000 people over a seven day average, while high is defined as more than 100 daily cases per 100,000.

 Infection numbers are now swelling, because of the Delta variant, which accounts for around 90 percent of cases. The latest seven day average of daily cases is more than 56,000, similar to levels last seen in April. Forty-nine percent of the US population is fully vaccinated, but the vaccination rate is heavily skewed between politically liberal and conservative parts of the country.