The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has changed course and issued new guidelines on the necessity of masks amid a worldwide surge in coronavirus cases.
The number of cases began climbing in Georgia this month, much of it driven by the highly contagious delta variant that’s quickly spreading among the unvaccinated.
The new guidelines recommend that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. experiencing a surge.
According to CDC data, all but about a dozen of Georgia’s 159 counties meet the threshold of substantial or high community transmission. The only counties that don’t right now are: Butts, Clay, Gilmer, Glascock, Jefferson, Lanier, Macon, Oglethorpe, Towns, Upson and Wilcox.
Citing new information about the ability of the delta variant to spread through vaccinated people, the CDC also recommended indoor masks for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.
“This pandemic continues to pose a serious threat to the health of all Americans,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said. “We are still in a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
Walensky also said that, with many of the nation’s school systems resuming classes next week, only about 30% of children between the ages of 12 and 17 are fully vaccinated.
Georgia’s seven-day rolling average of probable and confirmed coronavirus cases is at its highest point since March 5. It’s more than eight times higher than it was before the July 4th holiday, according to state data.
Hospitalizations are also on the uptick. On Friday, COVID-19 patients made up 12.5% of those hospitalized in Georgia, up from under 4% earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the pace of vaccinations has slowed. Just over half of Georgians 12 and older have at least one dose of vaccine.
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
Though mostly unvaccinated people make up the new diagnoses,“breakthrough” infections among the vaccinated are happening. Those have generally resulted in milder cases.
Dr. Michael Eriksen, founding dean of Georgia State’s School of Public Health, said the good news is highly effective vaccines are widely available, and most older people in Georgia at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 have been vaccinated. And while the number of cases overall is still down sharply compared to other surges, it is increasing rapidly.
“The delta variant is a game-changer. It’s super contagious. Cases are going up like they were last year, and we don’t know when they are going to stop,” Eriksen said.
Here’s a look at major developments related to COVID-19 over the past week.
Mixed reaction to new CDC guidelines
Some public health experts say the CDC’s earlier decision to drop its mask recommendation for vaccinated people was based on good science.
“I hope the CDC doesn’t impose a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s hard to imagine how someone who has been fully vaccinated, and now has to wear a mask indoors, will convince someone who has been unvaccinated to become inoculated,” " said Dr. Cecil Bennett, a Newnan-based family physician.
“I worry the CDC is panicking a bit by having to put us all in masks,” he said.
Some experts are worried that there has been no call for Americans to document their vaccination status.
“If all the unvaccinated people were responsible and wore masks indoors, we would not be seeing this surge,” said Dr. Ali Khan, a former CDC disease investigator who now is dean of the University of Nebraska’s College of Public Health.
Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp’s approach on masks unchanged
Gov. Brian Kemp has long opposed mask requirements to combat the spread of coronavirus. And his stance isn’t changing after the new CDC mask guidelines.
Kemp, who has pushed Georgians to get vaccinated, said he will continue to urge residents to wear masks but doesn’t see the need for a mandate. That lines up with his approach throughout the pandemic, one that included a legal battle with Atlanta officials over an effort to require masks in the capital city.
“Georgia will not lock down or impose statewide mask mandates,” said Kemp. But, he added, Georgians should “get vaccinated as quickly as possible.”
In recent weeks, he’s joined other Republican governors in attacking requirements as an assault on personal liberties. He’s signed an executive order that restricts the use of “vaccine passports” and another that opposes school mask mandates.
A growing number of local officials are taking their own steps to curb the spread of the disease. Savannah became the first city in Georgia to reinstate some mask requirements. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms also has ordered that masks be worn in all indoor public spaces, including private businesses.
Some school systems are requiring masks, including Gwinnett County, Georgia’s largest school district.
Kemp no longer has the authority to impose a statewide mask mandate. Last month, he ended the public health state of emergency that gave him broad powers to enact statewide restrictions. But he still has one of Georgia’s loudest megaphones and can impose rules for state employees and offices.
The Associated Press and staff writer Tim Darnell contributed to this report.
