News that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had changed its masking guidelines for health care settings has been headlines this week, but how exactly has it changed?
Chicago's top doctor said the answer is more complex than many may know.
"This is a little bit of a complicated answer," Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday during a Facebook Live. "So first of all, the CDC is recommending that, you know, every health care setting does not need to have universal masking unless facilities are in areas of high COVID-19 transmission, but what's confusing about that is that there are different risk levels and risk transmissions that are used in community settings."
According to Arwady, the levels set for hospitals are not the same community levels that currently saw Chicago and Cook County drop to a "low" alert level.
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"Healthcare doesn't use the same matrix," she said. "And so even while only about, I don't remember the exact percentage, but it's maybe 10% of counties in the US are at that high transmission level this week, more than 70% of counties are, in terms of health care risks, are still at high."
Under the CDC's adjusted guidelines, "when SARS-CoV-2 Community Transmission levels are not high, healthcare facilities could choose not to require universal source control."
Masking is still recommended, however, for those who may have COVID, who were exposed to COVID, or who were in or work in an area experiencing an outbreak - regardless of community COVID levels.
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According to Illinois' Department of Public Health, the state is evaluating the new guidance, but how this changes guidelines at Illinois hospitals remains to be seen.
"I can tell you that IDPH has received new guidance from the CDC covering strategies for mitigating healthcare personnel staffing shortages, potential exposure to COVID-19 in healthcare workplaces and infection control guidance," a spokesperson for the department told NBC Chicago in a statement. "We are reviewing and assessing the new guidance and we expect to issue updated guidance to Illinois healthcare providers in the coming days."
