Much of the DMV now at 'substantial' community COVID transmission, CDC recommends masks

WASHINGTON (7News) — Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed course on some of its masking guidelines, recommending that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the delta variant of the coronavirus is fueling infection surges.

"To reduce the risk of being infected with the Delta variant and possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission," updated guidelines on the CDC website say.

At the time of the CDC announcement, very few areas within the D.C. region had that level of transmission, according to CDC data.

Just days later, D.C. and many of its surrounding counties are reporting substantial spread.

While D.C. has gone back to requiring masks indoors as a result, Virginia and Maryland have not.

Cases are slightly up in the three jurisdictions, but they are nowhere near pandemic highs. Meanwhile, Florida just reported its highest one-day case total since the start of the pandemic, 21,683 new cases. The state has become the new national epicenter for the virus, accounting for around a fifth of all new cases in the U.S., the Associated Press reports.

You can check your area's community transmission level HERE.