Schools should only mandate masks when COVID cases and hospitalizations are high, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Friday, in a shift that means most U.S. schools now have the agency's OK to go without masks.
The move is the first major change in national guidance on masks in schools since last summer, and follows decisions by many states and districts to lift mask mandates in recent weeks.
Still, many schools have continued to require masks for students and staff, and the CDC's shift could pave the way for further changes.
The new guidelines suggest that if the rate of new COVID cases and hospitalizations are low and hospitals are not experiencing overcrowding, mask mandates are not necessary.
The CDC does suggest that in areas in which cases and hospitalizations are high, mask mandates should still be employed.
About half of the country's largest 500 school districts currently require masks, according to the tracking site Burbio, including New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Only two states - California and New York - still have a statewide school mask requirement with no announced end date.
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