When the virus spreads, the CDC creates an emergency combat plan

On Friday, federal health officials urged Americans in the most powerful language ever, as coronavirus infections surged nationwide. Take measures to protect yourself — Starting with the consistent and proper use of masks — and pressured local governments to adopt 10 public health measures that may be needed to contain the pandemic.

This guidance reflects the authorities’ deep concern that pandemics have become even more out of control, many of them out of control. Hospitals are reaching their limits, Can disrupt medical care across the country.

Authorities issued increasingly harsh warnings during the Trump administration’s decline, and presidential election Joseph R. Biden, Jr. promised a new national strategy to get the virus back. On Thursday, Mr Biden said he would call on Americans to wear a face cover for 100 days.

To some experts, the CDC’s appeal seemed to facilitate a more comprehensive and coordinated national approach to controlling the pandemic. This is in line with the message from Mr. Biden and his adviser.

“I’m seeing the CDC and other public health agencies awakening from a political coma,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the agency under President Barack Obama.

“This is what they are more in line with science, which also makes them more in line with the Biden administration,” he added.

None of the directives are new, but experts said the increase in case numbers indicates the need for a more uniform approach rather than the patchwork of restrictions adopted by the state.

“The role of the CDC is to lead science,” said Dr. Celine Gowner, an infectious disease specialist and member of Biden’s Covid advisory group. “Without strong domestic guidance from the CDC, there are various responses across the country, some of which are more scientifically justified than others.”

According to CDC officials, scientific evidence has accumulated to support the effectiveness of certain health measures, such as wearing masks, and these measures are now urgently needed to stop the epidemic.

The agency has issued all the recommendations in its previous guidance, but the new summary shows that the CDC is the first to publish a multifaceted list of state strategies, a type of combat plan.

Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, said: “If we live in one country, the idea of ​​a solution for these 50 states is completely unrealistic.” Without a national approach, we can’t get past this pandemic. “

The new recommendations give top priority to keeping schools open from kindergarten to grade 12, and because schools play an important role in providing food and support services, “setting to close last” and ” It states that it must be both “settings to restart first”. Children. The closure will cost low-income families disproportionately, officials said.

Authorities warned that eating in an indoor restaurant was one of the “especially risky scenarios” because the eater had to remove the mask. The CDC demanded face cover for mass transit, which Biden also supports, and urged the community to expand regular screening to identify asymptomatic individuals involved in about 50% of infections. It was.

Margaret A. Honein, the first author of the CDC report, said that failure to implement precautions would continue to spread the virus and increase unnecessary deaths.

She emphasized that Americans can take many important steps on their own: wearing masks, physically keeping them away from others, limiting their contact, and incapacitating indoor spaces. Avoid necessary visits.

“We tell everyone that it is within our control to take this important step of wearing a face mask to prevent infection and maintain physical distance from others. I want to make you aware. ”Emergency response team.

She added that the scientific evidence that masks can prevent infected individuals from spreading the disease and protect users from infection is “convincing.” “Obviously not everyone is asking how important it is,” she said. “It’s an action that everyone can take to protect each other.”

According to the CDC, Americans should also avoid indoor spaces outside their homes and crowded outdoor spaces. This includes restaurants and may also apply to those who dine outdoors. The report suggests switching to takeaway food services instead.

Officials said Americans should be tested if exposed to the virus and should work with contact tracers if infected. They need to stay home to postpone their trip, deflate and ventilate the room, wash their hands frequently and vaccinate when available.

Officials said the exercise should be carried out outdoors at a social distance from the mask. You should encourage remote work and limit social gatherings.

During the shift, the CDC also called on state and local jurisdictions to encourage and implement these actions, including requiring masks to be worn in public spaces and public transport.

In September, the Trump administration blocked CDC orders requiring passengers to wear masks on airplane, bus, subway train and transportation hubs. Officials in some states continue to resist the obligation to mask in public spaces. With more than one million cases of Covid-19 reported in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis repeatedly opposed hiding the power of attorney earlier this week.

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The CDC has set up physical barriers and visual reminders to the authorities to limit the use of high-risk, non-essential indoor spaces, emphasize the need for social distance, and begin planning vaccine distribution and administration now. I requested that you do.

Authorities are also promoting enhanced inspections of critical workers in contact with the public and those at otherwise high risk.

Despite the apparently imminent mass vaccination, Dr. Honein emphasized the need to implement such measures. “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it takes time to reach it,” she said.

Dr. Nuzzo of Johns Hopkins and other experts praised the agency’s new focus on prioritizing schools over venues such as restaurants and bars. Resonated by Mr. Biden and his adviser..

With previous CDC guidance published in the summer White house doctorHe also called for the reopening of the school, but it was not balanced with the scientific assessment of the risks involved, Dr. Nuzzo added, “it felt more like a treatise than an analysis.”

According to experts, it is useful to include all 10 countermeasures in one document, emphasizing the message that one strategy cannot prevent the spread of the virus. However, Dr. Nahid Badelia, medical director of the Special Pathogens Unit at the Boston Medical Center, said the document was in detail.

Dr. Badelia was impressed with the suggestion that there might be a coordinated program to distribute masks to people. “I’ve never seen it, especially for those at high risk,” she said. However, the CDC did not specify whether the state or employer should provide masks, she said.

The new guidance also emphasized the importance of improving ventilation in indoor spaces where aerial viruses pose a threat. However, agencies can have detailed best practices to minimize confusion, Dr. Badelia said.

She cited the “cabin” of a fully enclosed outdoor dining as an example of a false solution that could result from unclear guidance.

Authorities also did not clarify what triggered the closure of restaurants and schools, or the groups recommended to increase testing due to high interaction with other people. “I wanted to take a closer look,” said Dr. Badelia.