Owners Sari and Peter Melendez enjoy lunch at Katz’s Delicatessen, the famous delicacy founded in 1888, on the first day of their return to the New York indoor restaurant during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), New York, February 12, 2021 .
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
The easing of the mask mandate and the reopening of restaurants have led to an increase in Covid-19 cases and deaths, according to a new CDC study, which comes as the agency urges states not to aggressively lift health restrictions.
According to the study, which examined county data between March and December, the mask warrants implemented by local authorities managed to slow the spread of the virus starting about 20 days after their implementation.
“Allowing meals at the local restaurant was associated with an increase in the daily growth rates of the COVID-19 case to 41-100 days after implementation and an increase in the daily growth rates of deaths to 61-100 days after implementation.” , wrote researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Mask warrants and the restriction of any local restaurant can help limit the Community transmission of COVID-19 and reduce the rates of increase in cases and deaths.”
The study found that mask requirements were associated with a decrease of more than 1 percentage point in the daily growth rate of Covid-19 cases and deaths 20 days after their implementation. The meal at restaurants was associated with an increase of 0.9, 1.2 and 1.1 percentage points in the growth rate of cases 41-60, 61 to 80 and 81 to 100 days, respectively, after they were restrictions were lifted, according to the study.
The researchers added that these measures will be important to prevent the continued spread of highly transmissible coronavirus variants, which could cause more cases, hospitalizations and deaths, medical experts warned.
“This report is a critical reminder that with the current levels of Covid-19 in communities and the continued spread of several variants of the transmissible virus, which have now been detected in 48 states, strict prevention measures remain essential to put end of this. pandemic, “CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Friday at a Covid-19 White House press conference.
“It also serves as a warning about the premature lifting of these preventive measures,” Walensky said.
Senior US health officials have repeatedly warned in recent weeks that the emergence of new variants, especially the strain first identified in the UK, known as B.1.1.7, will reverse the nation’s success by reducing the outbreak.
The US reported a daily average of about 62,950 new cases in the last week, a significant decrease from the peak of nearly 250,000 daily cases reported by the US in January, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
However, the decline in cases has lost steam, however, a worrying trend that has left infections at an alarmingly high level, which could return if options are allowed, health officials warn.
“There is a light at the end of this tunnel, but we have to be prepared for the fact that the road in front may not be smooth,” Walensky said.
Some states have moved forward with the reopening of their economies, however, despite calls from the Biden administration, including White House Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anthony Fauci, for local leaders to wait a few more weeks for cases to show signs of falling. new and more vaccines are given. .
“I don’t know why I’m doing it, but certainly, from a public health point of view, it’s not very well advised,” Fauci told CNN on Wednesday, when asked about states lifting Covid restrictions. The scene is reminiscent of last summer, when states began withdrawing restrictions too early, followed by a wave of cases in the American Sun Belt.
“What we don’t need now is another wave,” Fauci said.
Texas, Mississippi and Connecticut moved this week to allow companies to resume operations at full capacity in their states. Both Texas and Mississippi have also decided to lift their mask mandates at the state level, although state rulers have said residents should continue to cover their faces.
On Thursday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced that he would lift his state’s mask mandate beginning April 9, saying that while it is the right thing to do, he respects those who “object and believe it was a step in the right direction.” too far in government expansion. “