An Atlanta college has brought back compulsory mask wearing after a surge in cases of new highly-mutated Covid strain. Student parties and gatherings have been banned.
One Atlanta college is the first to call for a return to face masks after the rise of a new highly-mutated Covid variant. Unbreakable Acm
Since the US government declared the pandemic over Morris Brown College is the first to mandate masks for students and staff just days after classes began.
The private liberal arts school is asking students and employees to wear face masks in hallways and lecture halls for two weeks due to rising reports of positive cases among students.
Officials have also told students to maintain social distancing and banned all parties and large student gatherings for two weeks.
An editorial published by the American College of Physicians (ACP), Government doctors and public health experts in Seattle have called for face coverings to be made compulsory in all healthcare facilities once more.
They said that hospital patients are at a higher risk of dying from or being seriously ill with Covid and would benefit from the reduce[d] risk of Covid contracted in the hospital among patients and healthcare workers.
The 10 experts — from Seattle & King County health department and the University of Washington — said: ‘We should find ways to adapt to this new reality rather than accepting unnecessary risks to patient and provider health.'
Talk of mask-wearing has re-entered public discourse after the CDC said it was monitoring the new Covid variant BA.2.86.
The Numbers of Covid cases in Georgia have increased for three weeks in a row, but overall, the number of infections and hospitalizations remains low.
Earlier today, a former FDA boss said he is concerned about the variant known as BA.X, BA.2.86 or Pirola, which is highly mutated and therefore likely to be better at escaping the immune systems of vaccinated or previously infected people.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb said there is no evidence the variant is deadlier than older versions of the virus, but Covid fatalities in the US have already started to rise again.
In the article published Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine , the ACP's academic medical journal said: ‘There is rationale to integrate precautions.
‘The ongoing disease burden among persons at highest risk for severe Covid-19, the large proportion of transmission from asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic cases, uncertainty about the future course of the pandemic, and the effects of post–Covid-19 conditions.'
Statements expressed in the journal do not necessarily reflect the views of the ACP.
The researchers recognized that Covid cases have dropped dramatically since the pandemic due to vaccines, antivirals and increased community immunity, but said that severe outcomes are still occurring due to the virus.
They argued that patients in hospitals are far more vulnerable due to age and underlying conditions.
The authors added: 'If we accept the benefits of increased mask wearing in clinical settings, we should find ways to adapt to this new reality rather than accepting unnecessary risks to patient and provider health.
'Perhaps rather than removing masks to improve rapport building and enhance perceived empathy, we could find ways to improve masked communication.'
Patients should also be allowed to 'request that their providers wear a mask when they believe it is appropriate,' the commentary said.
The authors said the masking could take different approaches, such as across healthcare settings in targeted settings like transplant, oncology, and geriatric units, where risk is highest for patients, but noted this is a less desirable option.
It could also be done in certain months of the year when the respiratory season is highest, depending on where the hospital is in the US, or when the burden of respiratory viruses on the community reaches a level deemed too high.
They reference Washington State — where healthcare organisations decided to extend universal masking in patient spaces, with individual facilities given the flexibility to tailor policies to their own unique spaces.
When Biden ended the Covid national emergency, the Covid measures were meant to have been dropped for good.
But some UK scientists — are also concerned about the new Covid variants and they have advised people to mask up again.
The debate around masks first became controversial in 2020 when health officials wavered on their effectiveness.
Then-NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci in 202 said masks were not providing the perfect protection that people think they were.
He later suggested people should wear masks as a mark of respect for others.
He admitted to lying to the public about masks' effectiveness to prevent panic buying and preserve masks for healthcare workers.
The agency still recommends Americans wear masks in places with high transmission levels, such as on public transport.
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