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CDC still recommends masking indoors in San Antonio, despite relaxed guidance

San Antonio does not yet fall in the CDC's 'low' or 'moderate' risk categories, despite improving COVID-19 conditions.

SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio residents should continue to wear masks indoors, despite new Centers for Disease Control guidance that will allow 70 percent of Americans to ditch face coverings. 

The CDC's will use new, hospitalization-focused metrics to determine where it is safe to stop masking indoors. 

"I think it's a step in the right direction because it's really based on the kinds of evidence that we've seen to be most reliable," said Dr. Bryan Alsip, University Health's chief medical officer.

Almost 1,000 COVID-19 patients have checked out of San Antonio hospitals in the last 30 days. But the Coronavirus is still spreading too fast to meet the CDC's thresholds for unmasking. 

However, San Antonio could soon move from high to moderate risk if its active infections per 100,000 residents drops from 208 to 200. It is mathematically possible to achieve this reduced spread in a matter of days. 

Once San Antonio reaches moderate risk, the CDC recommends residents consult with their doctors about whether they should mask. 

A doctor will weigh a patient's physical condition, vaccination status, and risk for infection in the workplace when deciding how to proceed, Alsip said. 

"The guidance is really based around community-based indicators," he added. "We can feel better, I think, as we progress through this pandemic."

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