As the Adair County Health Department completed contact tracing for 16 new cases yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released revised mask guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals. Due to the rapid transmission of the Delta variant, the CDC now recommends that fully vaccinated people wear masks when indoors in public in areas of “substantial” or “high” risk for the virus.
The CDC puts Adair County in the high-risk category, based on the growing number of positive cases. The overall case count in Adair County is now 2,723 with 65 active cases and 2,635 people who have left isolation.
The CDC also recommends that adults and children wear masks in K-12 schools regardless of vaccine status. The CDC’s previous guidance for schools only called for unvaccinated students to wear masks. The American Federation of Teachers President praised the new guidance calling it a necessary precaution until children under 12 can receive a COVID vaccine and more Americans over 12 get vaccinated.