Following new CDC guidelines, Jenkins revises Dallas County’s mask mandate

following new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that most healthy Americans can safely go most places without masks. The revised Dallas County mask order, which goes into effect at 10 p.m. Friday, drops the requirement of wearing a mask in any settings other than jails, homeless shelters, long-term care facilities and health care settings, Jenkins said in a news release. Communities with low and medium COVID-19 risk don’t need to wear masks in most places, according to a new set of CDC measures. The updated community levels are based on what’s happening in hospitals and less on positive test results. The new system changes the look of the CDC’s risk map and puts more than 70% of the U.S. population in counties where the coronavirus is posing a low or medium threat to hospitals. People in those counties can stop wearing masks, the agency said.

The federal agency is still advising people, including schoolchildren, to wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high. That’s the situation in about 37% of U.S. counties, where 28% of Americans live. The new recommendations do not change the requirement to wear masks on public transportation and indoors in airports, train stations and bus stations. The CDC guidelines for other indoor spaces aren’t binding, meaning cities and institutions even in areas of low risk may set their own rules. And the agency says people with COVID-19 symptoms or who test positive shouldn’t stop wearing masks. Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties all fall within the “medium” risk category, according to the CDC. Generally, that means people in those counties can safely go without masks unless they are at high risk for severe illness. Jenkins’ decision, based on advice from the county’s public health committee, will undo most of the largely symbolic and controversial mask mandate put in place in August. The mask requirement applied to child care centers, public schools, businesses and county buildings and facilities.