As COVID-19 Cases Rise, Experts Advise Some to Mask Up Again
Summary from AllSides News Team
A moderate rise in COVID-19 cases has some experts advising a return to facemasks in certain situations.
Rising Cases: Cases including two new variants — EG.5 and BA.2.86 — spurred over 15,000 hospitalizations in the week ending on August 19, up 18.8% from the previous week but still far below pandemic highs. Citing high levels of immunity, Dr. Anthony Fauci told BBC News (Center bias) that he “very seriously” doubted “whether you're going to see the hospital and death surge that we've seen in the past, even if we get a surge of infections.” However, some doctors are reportedly concerned about a “trifecta” of COVID-19, R.S.V., and the flu.
Should You Mask Up? Health experts cited by CNBC (Center bias) recommended masking for infected people and said others should consider personal risk levels and regional infection rates when deciding whether to wear a mask.
Some Mask Requirements Return: A college in Atlanta, a movie studio headquarters in Los Angeles, and hospital systems in New York, Massachusetts, and California have reinstated some mask requirements.
How the Media Covered It: While some sources on the left and center appeared accepting of experts’ advice and nonjudgmental of reinstated mask requirements, coverage from the right focused primarily on the return of mask mandates, emphasizing criticism from Republicans.
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An uptick in Covid cases and hospitalizations in the U.S., and the emergence of new variants of the virus, are prompting questions about whether Americans should start masking up again.
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“No mask mandates,” candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told The Daily Signal on Thursday. “No vaccine mandates. No lockdown ever again.”
Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas reminded The Daily Signal of how he handled the pandemic within his own state: “No, I would not,” he said, asked if he would support more lockdowns or mask mandates. “During the last pandemic, as governor, we had no shelter-in-place orders or...
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