Posted on 10/04/2022 5:03:43 PM PDT by lightman
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday made another sweeping change to one of its pandemic-era responses.
The federal health agency dropped its country-by-country COVID-19 travel health notices that it began issuing when COVID-19 started spreading in the United States in early 2020. Fewer countries are testing for the virus or reporting cases, making it more difficult to calculate travelers’ chances of contracting the virus, the CDC told news outlets.
It said that “as fewer countries are testing or reporting COVID-19 cases, CDC’s ability to accurately assess the COVID-19 (travel health notice) levels for most destinations that American travelers visit is limited.”
CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said that the health agency will only post a travel health notice for an individual country if a new variant emerges and if the CDC has to change travel recommendations for that country. The new change went into effect on Oct. 3.
As recently as March, the CDC recommended against travel to about 120 countries and territories worldwide, or more than half of all destinations.
The notices had deterred some Americans from travel and on occasion sparked consternation in some countries. A recommendation not to travel to Japan in May 2021, months before the Olympics, drew widespread attention.
The CDC is still recommending that travelers stay “up to date” on COVID-19 vaccines and follow recommendations found on its website. A travel page divides countries into several categories, including avoiding nonessential travel, enhanced precautions, and practicing usual precautions.
Other Rules Dropped
In early April, the CDC dropped a “do not travel” warning for about 90 separate countries and other locations due to COVID-19. That label will only be used for special circumstances, the agency said.
A federal judge in Florida issued a ruling on April 18 against the agency’s mask mandate for planes, trains, and buses. On June 10, the CDC ended its requirement that people who are flying to the United States have to provide a negative COVID-19 test before getting on a plane, although the agency still requires non-citizens traveling by air to show proof of vaccination.
The CDC in July ended its COVID-19 reporting program for cruise ships, prompting several operators to drop mask, vaccine, and testing requirements.
“While cruising poses some risk of COVID-19 transmission,” the CDC had said, adding that “CDC will continue to publish guidance to help cruise ships continue to provide a safer and healthier environment for crew, passengers, and communities going forward.”
The CDC under former President Donald Trump posted its first COVID-related travel warning for China in January 2020, drawing condemnation from his critics.
During the later stages of his 2020 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly said that he shut down U.S. travel from China—where the virus emerged in late 2019—to protect American lives.
Previous Overhauls
One of the most significant changes to the CDC’s guidance came in August when the agency moved to revise its longstanding COVID-19 mitigation protocols, and the agency changed how it makes determinations on vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
The guidelines from the federal agency no longer recommend staying at least six feet away from other people to reduce exposure. The six-foot social distancing recommendation had been intact since early 2020, although some public health officials have addressed questions about the effectiveness of the measure.
“CDC’s COVID-19 prevention recommendations no longer differentiate based on a person’s vaccination status because breakthrough infections occur, though they are generally mild, and persons who have had COVID-19 but are not vaccinated have some degree of protection against severe illness from their previous infection,” the CDC said at the time.
The Epoch Times has contacted the CDC for comment.
There appears to be an exit strategy of de-escalation
Waiting for the health care setting mask rule to drop.
They just recently recommended masks again in several New York counties:
https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/2022/09/cdc-recommends-masks-in-central-new-york-again-as-covid-levels-rise.html
It makes the “health care industry” look like fools who are behind the times. To say nothing of the fact that they betrayed us all during the plandemic, knew better, but went along just the same. “If you’re sick you can’t see a doctor, you might make someone sick!”
We got by without masks in the doctor’s office for a thousand years, but not now, in virtue signaling America.
Was in for a physical recently and the first thing they did was hand me a mask when I walked in. No doubt the box it came from said something like “does nothing to prevent disease”.
I asked the nurse, who was securely behind her ridiculous mask, if she though they would ever get rid of the masks. She said she didn’t think so, they were probably stuck with them forever.
The average human has the brain of a child these days, compared to 100 years ago.
I’m going to Germany this weekend. Was going to ride the Train. Thwy implemented an N95 requirement to ride the Train.
I’m renting a car, now. Screw them.
I rode a packed trains in londow with drunkards for 6 hours last week. Took my Biden required Covid test today (No vaccine in me). 40th negative test in a row.
Wife and I just returned from a three week excursion to the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.
No one was wearing masks. No one!
You would never know there had been anything Covid.
We just got back from Germany. No masks.
No need to continue waiting:
No longer required.
But I bet they recommend them
Cuz when I got an MRI last week the front desk of the medical building made me wear one.
CDC flip flops , contradicts themselves and has been talking out of both sides of their mouths for years now.
56% of the US is still in “High” meaning masks still required.
Community Transmission in US by County
Total Percent % Change
High 1831 56.83% – 11.67%
Substantial 835 25.92% 6.08%
Moderate 427 13.25% 4.9%
Low 129 4% 0.68%
Germany to bring in new Covid rules ahead of ‘difficult’ winter
"With infection numbers shooting up once again in Germany, states are set to bring in a new set of Covid measures on October 1st."
Its only for the "long distance trains", you need N95's, but that would have been the ones we were riding.
All Science is Politcal Science, now.
Elections are coming and the Democrats are going to be crushed and Science’s slush funds may be in jeopardy. We all know they won’t be, because republicans are spineless, but we can still dream
Like the German’s reinstating Mask mandates AFTER Octoberfest the are going back to the “progressive” boiling of the frog, istead of throwing him directly in the pot and him jumping away.
All Science is Politcal Science, now.
Elections are coming and the Democrats are going to be crushed and Science’s slush funds may be in jeopardy. We all know they won’t be, because republicans are spineless, but we can still dream
Like the German’s reinstating Mask mandates AFTER Octoberfest the are going back to the “progressive” boiling of the frog, istead of throwing him directly in the pot and him jumping away.
In reality, I betcha no one is wearing a silly mask once the train pulls out of the station. Over three weeks, we surrounded by thousands of Europeans in five countries in shops, squares, restaurants, castles, cathedrals and no one was masked, including cabbies and coach drivers.
Chin up my FReind. 👍
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