Masks remain unpopular in some areas and locally, it seems like few people are wearing them. Local numbers are declining , but the CDC still considers us in the HIGH LEVEL due to the hospital data. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=Texas&data-type=Risk&list_select_county=48029
Here is an article from the San Antonio Report regarding the new guidelines.
CDC still recommends masks in Bexar County due to high virus levels
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new mask guidance on Friday that allows counties with lower rates of community spread to relax some of their precautions.
But residents of Bexar County will need to keep their masks on indoors a little longer, the CDC said.
The latest effort is intended to prevent COVID-19 from straining communities and health care systems, according to the CDC’s statement.
In Bexar County, which still has a “high” level of virus transmission, according to the CDC’s classifications, residents are still recommended to wear a mask indoors when in public, stay up to date on vaccines and get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
Regardless of spread levels, the CDC recommends vaccines for all eligible populations.
For counties with low community spread, the CDC is easing its recommendations on preventative measures like mask-wearing, only recommending COVID-19 vaccines and boosters when eligible. Only those at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19 are recommended to mask in public in areas with low community spread.
Bexar County’s own COVID-19 dashboard on Friday listed the risk level in the county as “moderate.” A spokeswoman for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District said no one was available to explain why the CDC classifies the county’s transmission levels as “high” when the county’s data shows its risk level as moderate.
The CDC’s COVID-19 transmission levels are determined based on the county’s new coronavirus admissions per 100,000 people within the past seven days, percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients and new cases per 100,000 people within the past seven days, according to its website.
According to its website, Bexar County determines transmission levels by weighing in daily case numbers over a 14-day period, case rate per 100,000 people within the past seven days, and factors like positive lab tests and health system stress scores.
Recent Bexar County COVID-19 data suggests a two-week decline in cases, a moderate average case rate and moderate positivity rate, but indicates severe hospital trends and severe hospital stress.
I’m still going to wear a mask when in crowded indoor places. It works.
Masks are still recommended in hospitals and in medical offices. Older or immunocompromised patients should still consider wearing them indoors.
