The CDC issued new guidance Friday that significantly relaxes masking recommendations and provides other recommended prevention measures for every county in the U.S. using a new Community Level tool. About 70 percent of the population no longer needs to mask indoors under the new guidelines, though Daviess County falls in the high category meaning masks are recommended.
COVID-19 Community Levels are a new tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data, according to the CDC. Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area.
Daviess County, like most of Kentucky, is currently classified as a high level. Community Level data can be found here.
According to the CDC, basic prevention steps should be taken as follows based on Community Level (more detailed guidance can be found here):
- Low
- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
- Get tested if you have symptoms
- Medium
- If you are at high risk for severe illness, talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions
- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
- Get tested if you have symptoms
- High
- Wear a mask indoors in public
- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
- Get tested if you have symptoms
- Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness
The CDC said people may choose to mask at any time, and that people with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.
How the CDC measures the COVID-19 Community Levels
CDC looks at the combination of three metrics — new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past 7 days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days — to determine the COVID-19 community level. New COVID-19 admissions and the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied represent the current potential for strain on the health system. Data on new cases acts as an early warning indicator of potential increases in health system strain in the event of a COVID-19 surge.
