The Delta variant is tightening its grip on the country. And health officials are now asking Americans to get back to the basic lessons of the pandemic.
Time Has Come Even For Vaccinated Americans To Mask And Test, Health Officials Warn
Coronavirus infections are sweeping across all States in the US. The Delta variant is the most dominant strain among them. According to health officials, this is not the time to avoid masking and testing. The warning applies mostly to the States where the rate of vaccination is low and the virus transmission is high. The country is now in a critical phase. And testing and masking have significant roles to play to curb the pandemic.
Delta variant, according to them, is the most contagious strain we have ever come across.
A certain section of experts even feels that everyone should wear a mask even indoors wherever they are.
Louisiana is one of the worst affected states this season. The number of hospitalizations is about to surpass even the peak time since the pandemic began. Every single parish here is at the highest risk. Authorities are now asking everyone five and older to wear a mask when entering public places like business institutions, churches, and schools.
No one can overestimate the importance of testing and masking nowadays. Every other day, each County is turning either orange or red. Get tested the moment you feel any suspicion of exposure to the virus. Other southern states like Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee too are struggling with a new surge of infections. In all these places, the rate of vaccination is less than 50% of their population.
CDC recommends that everyone wear masks even in indoor settings where the rate of transmission is substantial or high. The advice applies also to Counties where the test positivity rate is high. This now covers almost all counties in the country.
Health professionals now feel that majority of Americans should go to the early lessons, of the time when the pandemic started. Wear a mask even in indoor settings. Get tested in the instance of any suspicion of exposure. Use a hand sanitizer at regular intervals. Maintain social distance. They should do all these irrespective of the status of their vaccination.
In the meantime, the country should try to do everything it did during the pre-pandemic days. Dine out or attend musical concerts. You just have to evaluate how crowded the place is. The test positivity rate of the area deserves your utmost attention.
The aim is to ensure that the country is not forced to return to the restrictions of last year. That is not likely to happen at least in the near future. More and more people are getting vaccinated nowadays.
From Tuesday, New York City requires proof of vaccination for residents to attend indoor activities like going to restaurants, visiting gyms and other public spaces. The order will come into full effect from September 1st. Thus it became the first city to issue such a mandate. More than 55% of the city’s population is vaccinated. The pace of vaccination, however, is quite slow nowadays. Up to 84% of the current infections in the State are the Delta variant.
Most of the Broadway events are expected to return to full swing by September. Even then, they have canceled major events due to the current surge of the Delta variant. The 2021 New York International Auto Show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in midtown Manhattan stands canceled. The show was capable of attracting up to 1000000 people. It happened when only 14 days were left for the event.
In other parts of the country, businesses are getting back to normal. Concerts are earning millions of dollars. And festivals are being organized as usual.
But the scenario everywhere may be slightly different because of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
