CDC’s new COVID-19 metrics indicate most Americans can go maskless

New COVID-19 guidance released by the CDC on Friday indicates that most Americans now live in areas where they can go maskless.
The guidance is based on metrics that rely on local measures of hospital capacity, including a county’s level of COVID-19 hospitalizations and percentage of hospital beds occupied by patients with COVID-19. It also factors in COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people.
A color-coded system that identifies counties’ level of risk — from low (green) to medium (yellow) to high (orange) — can be used to determine if a mask is necessary.
According to the CDC,

New COVID-19 guidance released by the CDC on Friday indicates that most Americans now live in areas where they can go maskless.
The guidance is based on metrics that rely on local measures of hospital capacity, including a county’s level of COVID-19 hospitalizations and percentage of hospital beds occupied by patients with COVID-19. It also factors in COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people.
A color-coded system that identifies counties’ level of risk — from low (green) to medium (yellow) to high (orange) — can be used to determine if a mask is necessary.
According to the CDC,