CDC updates masking guidelines for health care facilities

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week recommended health care facilities use a risk-based assessment, stakeholder input and local metrics to determine how and when to require universal masking to prevent COVID-19 transmission. The universal masking guidelines are no longer tied to CDC’s community transmission metric, which will not be available after the COVID-19 public health emergency ends tomorrow, the agency notes. The revised infection prevention guidelines continue to recommend universal masking under specific circumstances, including in work units or areas of a facility experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. CDC no longer recommends testing all nursing home admissions for COVID-19, leaving testing to the discretion of the facility. For more information, see the CDC’s updated guidelines.