Biden: "We are in a situation of life or death against the virus" 0:42
(CNN) - US
President Joe Biden is expected to announce Tuesday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its outdoor mask use guidelines, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Before his first speech before Congress on Wednesday, the president will refer on Tuesday to the situation of the pandemic in the country.
All three people familiar with the announcement said Biden will introduce new guidance from the CDC on whether vaccinated people should wear face masks outdoors.
However, the final language of what will be announced is still unclear.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of Biden's top coronavirus advisers, strongly hinted that the guidelines would be updated this week.
In that sense, he told CNN's Jim Acosta this Sunday that he didn't want to get ahead of the CDC.
But that "they will update their guidelines of what people who are vaccinated and even some who are not vaccinated can do," he added.
A November review in the
Journal of Infectious Diseases
found that the odds of viral transmission are 18.7 times higher indoors than outdoors.
Also that less than 10% of the COVID-19 infections studied occurred outdoors.
Despite that, several states still require mandatory use of face masks outdoors.
The current guides on masks
Currently, the CDC recommends that those who are fully vaccinated should wear a mask and stay 2 meters away from other people in public, when meeting with unvaccinated individuals from more than one household, and when visiting an unvaccinated person who are at increased risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 or are living with a person at higher risk.
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Adults across the US will be able to get vaccinated from April 19 2:45
CDC considers a person fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or two weeks after the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine.
The announcement about updated mask use guidelines comes as more and more Americans get vaccinated.
In fact, about 229 million doses have been administered in the US, according to the CDC.
Also as Biden approaches his 100th day in office.
Covid-19 vaccination efforts in the United States may now decline, says official.
These are the reasons
Biden began his presidency by asking Americans to wear masks for 100 days and signed an executive order requiring their use on federal property.
The measure mandates the use of masks and physical distancing in federal buildings, on federal land and by government contractors.
It also urges state and local governments to do the same.
White House officials and medical experts, including Fauci, have repeatedly called on the public to wear masks and practice social distancing to stop the spread of the virus.
CDCCovid-19masksPandemic
