The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drastically relaxed mask requirements for young campers in outdoor settings on Friday, stating that all campers, even those who have not been immunized, do not need to wear masks outside unless community transmission of the virus is an issue.
The CDC nonetheless “strongly encouraged” the use of masks inside for those who have not been completely vaccinated, but fully vaccinated campers are not required to wear masks in any environment, according to the guideline.
The CDC’s advice is merely a suggestion; state and local governments have the ultimate word on mask regulations, which may be more stringent than the CDC’s.
The most current overnight camp guideline from the California Department of Public Health, given on May 13, said that if all camp employees and participants are properly vaccinated, they may operate without the COVID-19 public health limitations.
However, if any camp employees or participants have not yet been properly vaccinated, California requires everyone to wear a mask outside if they cannot physically isolate themselves from others, and everyone must wear a mask inside, regardless of physical distance.
Those rules will remain in effect until June 15, when California’s mask rules will be relaxed, and fully vaccinated people will no longer be required to wear face coverings in most settings, with the exception of public transportation, transit hubs, and large events with 5,000 or more people indoors and 10,000 or more outside.
The California Department of Public Health said on Friday that there are presently no plans to modify the existing mask advice until June 15.
“The CDC explicitly gave states, localities and businesses the option to go at their own pace, and that’s what we are doing,” the agency said in a statement. “California is the largest, most complex state in the nation, and it’s critical that we get this right — so that’s what we are going to do. Californians have had plenty of time to digest that we are reopening on June 15, and changing mask requirements at that time makes sense.”
State authorities have said that mask recommendations will continue to evolve as immunization rates rise.
On Thursday, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said she anticipated mask guidelines to evolve over time.
“There’s new information, constantly emerging information, about the difference between outdoors and indoors for children,” Ferrer said. “And where, in fact, there may be a much less risk in terms of outdoor activities, there may be an opportunity to lift some of the masking guidance.”
The advice may be changed safely “with a lot of individuals vaccinated,” since this leads in “much less community transmission,” according to Ferrer.
High vaccination rates “get us to places where case rates are so low that you don’t have to worry as much about transmission in places where transmission is not as likely in the first place — which would be an outdoor setting when compared to an indoor setting,” Ferrer said.
Younger children’s nostrils contain considerably less ACE2 receptors than adults’, which are proteins on the surface of cells to which the coronavirus clings. The absence of ACE2 receptors explains why children are less prone than adults to contract or spread the coronavirus.
According to the new CDC recommendations announced on Friday, camp programs should be supportive of people who chose to continue wearing masks.
Furthermore, if community transmission of the coronavirus is “substantial” or “high,” persons who are not completely vaccinated are advised to wear masks in “crowded outdoor settings during activities that include persistent close contact with other persons who are not completely vaccinated.”
The majority of California counties have “moderate” or “low” coronavirus transmission; a few counties in the San Joaquin Valley, the Sierra Nevada, and the rural northern half of the state still have “substantial” or “high” transmission.
According to the CDC, camps may still need masks for all children, vaccinated or not, “when it is difficult to tell who has been vaccinated or to set an example for not fully vaccinated campers.”
“Particularly in areas of substantial to high transmission, camps may consider requiring mask use indoors by all people present including vaccinated campers, staff, and other people such as visitors,” the CDC warned.