The Centers for Disease Control announced it is easing its indoor mask guidance for the public and in schools.

The new metrics used to determine whether a mask should be used indoors will now take into account hospitalizations, local hospitalization capacity and new COVID-19 cases.

Those metrics will be used to create three levels of risk:

• Low: Indoor masks are not needed
• Medium: People who are at high risk of severe COVID should consult with their doctor about prevention measures including masks
• High: Indoor mask use is recommended

CDC

The CDC now only recommends universal masking in schools for areas in the "high" category.

Under the new guidance, about 30% of people in the U.S. remain in the "high" risk level, the CDC stated.

CDC

The CDC says it is adding a tool on its website for people to find out their COVID-19 community risk level.

The new guidance comes as almost every state in the country has either dropped its mask mandate or announced plans to lift the mandate soon. Hawaii is the only state in the country to make no such announcement.

The U.S. has seen a dramatic drop in COVID-19 cases since the omicron variant peaked in January.

The CDC says there's been a 43% drop in cases in the seven-day average when compared to the prior week.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released three studies that show that COVID-19 infections were more pervasive in areas that did not require masks in schools.

The studies provide further evidence that the CDC's recommendation that teachers, staff and students wear masks when in school significantly lessen the spread of COVID-19.

One of the studies, which was conducted in Arizona, showed that schools that did not require universal masking were 3.5 times more likely to have a COVID-19 outbreak than schools that did require masks.

A second study found that the case rates of COVID-19 among children were nearly half as low in counties that require masks in schools compared to counties that did not require masks in schools. In counties that required masks in schools, the pediatric case rate was 16.32 per 100,000, compared to 34.85 for counties that did not require masks in schools.

CDC

A third study concluded that 1,801 schools across the country have had to close at some point this school year due to COVID-19 outbreaks. The number of closures was highest in the South, where more governments have taken action to limit the use of masks in schools.

Still, the CDC said Friday that 96% of schools across the country have been able to remain open for in-person learning during the 2021-22 school year.

"These studies continue to demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of CDC's Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools to help districts ensure safer in-person learning and stop the spread of COVID-19," the agency said in a statement. "Promoting vaccination of eligible persons, mask wearing, and screening testing are all proven methods to continue to work towards the end of the COVID-19 pandemic."

Video above: Florida school district defies Gov. Ron Desantis' order to ban mask mandates

School districts in Florida may impose mask mandates, a judge said Friday, ruling that Gov. Ron DeSantis overstepped his authority by issuing an executive order banning the mandates.

Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper agreed with a group of parents who claimed in a lawsuit that DeSantis' order is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. The governor's order gave parents the sole right to decide if their child wears a mask at school.

Cooper said DeSantis’ order “is without legal authority.”

His decision came after a three-day virtual hearing, and after at least 10 Florida school boards voted to defy DeSantis and impose mask requirements with no parental opt-out.

Cooper said that while the governor and others have argued that a new Florida law gives parents the ultimate authority to oversee health issues for their children, it also exempts government actions that are needed to protect public health and are reasonable and limited in scope. He said a school district’s decision to require student masking to prevent the spread of the virus falls within that exemption.

The judge also noted that two Florida Supreme Court decisions from 1914 and 1939 found that individual rights are limited by their impact on the rights of others. For example, he said, adults have the right to drink alcohol but not to drive drunk. There is a right to free speech, but not to harass or threaten others or yell “fire” in a crowded theater, he said.

“We don’t have that right because exercising the right in that way is harmful or potentially harmful to other people," Cooper said. He added that the law "is full of examples of rights that are limited (when) the good of others ... would be adversely affected by those rights.”

DeSantis has dismissed the masking recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as not applicable to Florida, but Cooper cited numerous Florida laws and statutes covering health care in nursing homes, prisons and elsewhere that say state decision-makers should give great weight to CDC guidelines.

The school districts that have defied Santis' order represent slightly more than half of the 2.8 million Florida public school students enrolled this year. DeSantis, a Republican who is eyeing a possible presidential run in 2024, had threatened to impose financial penalties on school boards that vote for strict mask mandates. Democratic President Joe Biden has said if that happens, federal money will be used to cover any costs.

Orange County, home to the city of Orlando and Disney World, on Tuesday, became the latest large district to impose a mask mandate after positive tests for COVID-19 disrupted classes. Through Tuesday, the district reported 1,968 positive cases among students since school began, with 1,491 people under active quarantine, according to the district’s dashboard.

In Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, the Broward County School Board told the Department of Education that it won’t back down on its requirement that students wear masks. Its policy, like that of most other districts, gives parents a medical opt-out for students. The board said giving parents the unlimited right to send their kids to school without a mask would infringe on the rights of other parents who want their children to be safe.

The state had given Broward and Alachua counties until Tuesday to end their mask mandates. Broward’s students began school a week ago with a mask policy in place.

"We believe that the district is in compliance. We don’t believe that we have done anything inappropriate as it relates to the executive order and the rule of the Department of Education,” Rosalind Osgood, chairwoman of the Broward School Board, said Tuesday.

The highly contagious delta variant led to an acceleration in cases around Florida and record-high hospitalizations just as schools prepared to reopen classrooms this month. By mid-August, more than 21,000 new cases were being added per day, compared with about 8,500 a month earlier. The state said 16,820 people were hospitalized on Tuesday, down from a record of more than 17,000 last week.

About 6 in 10 Americans say students and teachers should be required to wear face masks while in school, according to a poll conducted this month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Kids are heading back to class across the country, learning in person this year. But COVID-19 is forcing some students to quarantine, and others to close school doors. 

This all comes as a handful of states go against CDC guidance for universal masking, and the federal government threatens to step in. 

"I have no problem if you wear your mask and if you want to stay home because you're scared. Please do so. That is your right and your choice, and I would like the same choice for my child," said parent Megan Collins. 

"Personal choice ends when pubic health begins," said Damaris Allen.

Three more school districts in Florida -- Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Public Schools -- joined Alachua and Broward County Public Schools defying state orders that leave the decision with parents. The latter two are already under investigation by the Florida State Board of Education.

The potential repercussions could have implications financially and for school board seats. 

"We have to have the autonomy to make the decisions that are in the best interest of our students in a health crisis," said Vickie Cartwright, Ph.D., the interim superintendent of Broward County Public Schools. 

"I certainly think it takes away local control of the school district and it feels very much as a form of retaliation and punitive," said Carlee Simon, Ph.D., the superintendent of Alachua County Public Schools. 

The U.S. Secretary of Education offering support to educators and noting the agency sent letters to states prohibiting universal mask mandates, including Florida, Texas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah on the list.

"You have all these problems and yet the White House and Biden their number one issue is they're so intent on having the governor force kindergarteners, first graders to have to wear masks for 8 hours a day," said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. "They want to take that decision away from the parent and they want to vest that in local government."

This week, the White House directed the U.S. Secretary of Education to use its oversight against states standing in the way of schools, the President hinting at legal action.

"As I've said before, if you aren't going to fight COVID-19, at least get out of the way of everyone else who is trying. You know, we're not going to sit by as governors try to block and intimidate educators protecting our children," said President Biden.

The new guidance may raise more questions though about the role of states and federal government.

"It gets kind of fuzzy when you get down to the federal government saying they're going to come in and help local school districts protect the rights of students but in some of those states, Florida in particular, the Governor has the prerogative of dismissing, firing, local elected officials. Now that could also wind up in court actions," said Jay Wolfson, a senior associate dean at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. 

This comes as COVID-19 forces schools to temporarily close down just after opening doors, some in Georgia, Mississippi and Texas. 

The virus is also forcing other students and staff to stay home.

Metro Nashville Public Schools reported nearly 1,000 students quarantined or isolated at last check.

Hillsborough County reported nearly 12,000, making up more than 5 percent of its students. 

Both districts are among those defying state orders. 

It remains to be seen what repercussions districts face and what if any steps the U.S. Department of Education takes.

However, in Illinois where universal masking is required, the State Board of Education said it reduced recognition status to ‘on probation’ for 34 school districts for not complying.

If those districts don’t submit an approvable plan, that could lose recognition status. That means loss of access to state funding and state sports participation.

This story was originally reported by Haley Bull on Newsy.com

ANDERSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Nicole Giordano doesn't want to have to pull her son out of Turpin High School, but she said she will if the Forest Hills Board of Education votes to make masks mandatory at district schools this year.

"I told him at the end of this school year, I let you do this for a year," she said. "But if this happens again, we're not doing this."

Board members were expected to make a decision at their meeting Wednesday night on whether they would require students, staff and visitors to mask up. And — as other groups have organized in other parts of the Tri-State both Wednesday and in recent days — protesters are expected to organize in support or opposition of such a decision.

Similar protests were planned outside the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and in Oxford, Ohio, near Miami University's campus.

"It affects their attention span," she told WCPO. "It makes them sleepy. It can give them anxiety. I feel really bad for my son because he wants to be with his friends, but I also want him to breathe healthy."

Another district mom, who is also an emergency physician, said she'd also consider pulling her kids from the district but for the opposite reason as Giordano.

"It's common sense that, you know, wear a mask, don't spread the virus," said Dr. Ruth Hartjen, who said she's exploring online options for her kids if the board of education does not mandate masks. "We're talking about that not only the immediate health and well-being of our children. We're also talking about a healthcare system simply is at its break."

Political science professor Dr. Ryan Salzman, who teaches at Northern Kentucky University, said the uptick in protests in recent days is no surprise.

"I think we're probably at a high point for the mask mandates themselves because of the delta variant and because schools are going back in," Salzman said.

Unlike in Kentucky, where on Tuesday Gov. Andy Beshear issued an executive order requiring all public and private schools to require masks in school buildings, Ohio so far has left the decision up to local school districts. Salzman said that could make protests like those expected outside the Forest Hills Board of Education chamber Wednesday more impactful.

"In Ohio, there's these mask mandates, where they do exist, are being implemented more at the local level," Salzman said. "So, therefore, having protests at school board meetings may lead, you know, have a higher likelihood of leading to change."

Businesses large and small, from McDonald’s and Home Depot to local yoga studios, are reinstituting mask mandates as U.S. coronavirus cases rise. Bars, gyms and restaurants across the country are requiring vaccines to get inside.

After a largely mask-free summer, it's a reversal no one wanted to see, brought on by the fast-spreading delta variant and new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. But business owners and workers say they will do what they can to keep their doors open and not slow the economic gains of the last few months.

“We’ve already been through the worst of the challenges when we shut down the indoors last year,” said Brack May, the chef and owner of Cowbell, a New Orleans burger joint. “Let’s just get ahead of the curve here.”

May recently began requiring customers to show their vaccine cards for indoor dining. He said he wants to protect his workers, who are required to be vaccinated but have young children at home, as well as his neighborhood, where some musicians recently contracted the coronavirus.

May expects that eventually, vaccine rules like his will be commonplace. Next month, New York City will start requiring vaccinations to enter restaurants, gyms and theaters.

But for now, customers are far more likely to encounter mask mandates. After lifting mask recommendations for fully vaccinated people in May, the CDC reversed course in late July, recommending masks for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people in areas of higher transmission.

The shifting guidance has caused confusion over which rules to enforce and how. Walmart and Target, for instance, recently began requiring masks for employees __ but not customers __ in areas where virus transmission rates are high. McDonald’s is requiring masks for both employees and customers. Home Depot’s mask mandate is nationwide.

A handful of places, like Louisiana, the San Francisco Bay area and Las Vegas, are mandating masks indoors.

Many business owners didn’t wait for the CDC or their local governments before acting. In mid-July, Tamra Patterson reinstituted a mask mandate and reduced seating capacity from 200 to 65 at Chef Tam’s Underground Cafe, the restaurant she owns in Memphis, Tennessee.

“I need every dollar and dime and penny I can get, but if I don’t have employees healthy, I don’t have a business. If customers are sick, I have nothing,” Patterson said.

Customers are generally receptive to the mask mandate, Patterson said. Only one has walked out.

PanTerra Gallery, a women’s clothing store in Bisbee, Arizona, reinstated a mask mandate for customers a few weeks ago after watching cases climb nationwide.

“We’re a tourist town, so it was just a matter of time before it reached us again,” said Lisa Wines, a PanTerra employee. Most people are fine with the new mandate, she said, but some turn around and stomp out of the store.

Not every business supports the mandates. Basilico's Pasta e Vino, a restaurant in Huntington Beach, California, has railed against masks on social media. A sign on its door requires patrons to prove that they're unvaccinated.

Some workers also don't want to see masks return.

Dru W., a grocery employee in Houston who asked not to use his full name for fear of reprisals at work, said he was fully vaccinated months ago and enjoys the freedom it gives him to go without a mask. Few stores around him are enforcing the new CDC guidelines, he said, and he won’t either.

“I didn’t get both my doses and deal with the rather gnarly side effects only to be told to go back to the way things were during the pandemic,” he said.

But other retail workers see masks as an important way to end the pandemic. Austin Ray Shanks, who works at a Walmart in Monroe, Washington, said he finds masks uncomfortable but necessary. He's disappointed that many customers at his store refuse to wear them.

Marshall Crawley said his gym in Morrisville, North Carolina, recently announced that it would require masks for both vaccinated and unvaccinated patrons. But the rule isn’t being enforced, he said.

“It doesn’t really feel like it is doing much good wearing a mask when everyone around me is not,” said Crawley, a client manager for J&J Editorial, a managed services company for scholarly publishing.

Crawley thinks the CDC went too far when it told vaccinated people they could remove their masks this spring. Now, he said, it will be too hard to convince people to put them back on.

Jose Backer, who works in customer service at a food packaging manufacturer in Los Angeles County, said his company began letting vaccinated workers remove their masks earlier this year. But soon everyone stopped wearing them. That angered Backer, who doesn’t want a repeat of a COVID-19 outbreak that sickened him and others at his workplace last year. He's relieved that his county is requiring masks for everyone again.

The new wave of mandates give some comfort to companies that never gave up on masks, even when U.S. cases ebbed earlier this summer.

Liz Manasek, the co-owner of Warner Bodies, a custom truck manufacturer in Elwood, Indiana, kept a mask policy in place after watching other companies struggle with different rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated workers.

About 60% of the company’s 105 employees are now vaccinated, she said. She has told employees she won’t consider removing the mandate until that level reaches 80%.

Manasek has gotten some pushback from workers, but she reminds them that the policy has been effective. Only one or two employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began, she said.

“We’ve just got to hold out and keep on the basics,” she said.

(CNN) -- As kids head back to school this month, vaccination rates among adolescents tend to be lower in states that have banned mask mandates in schools than in states that will require masks in schools, a new CNN analysis finds.About 8 million adolescents -- representing about a third of those ages 12 to 17 -- have been fully vaccinated so far, according to data published Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fully vaccinated means that it has been two weeks since they completed a second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the only vaccine authorized for those under 18.So far, CNN has identified at least seven states -- Arkansas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah -- that have prohibited mask mandates in schools at the state level. Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday he regrets approving a statewide ban on face mask mandates earlier this year and has called the state legislature into a special session in an effort to amend the law.Most of these states have vaccinated a smaller share of adolescents than the national average, including Oklahoma, South Carolina and Arkansas, which have each vaccinated fewer than one-fifth of adolescents.Meanwhile, at least six states -- Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico, New York, Virginia and Washington -- require masks in schools, each of which has fully vaccinated a larger share of adolescents than the national average, including Connecticut, which is one of only three states to have vaccinated more than half of adolescents. Idaho was not included in CNN's analysis of CDC data, as data on adolescents by that state were not available.As of Wednesday, the states that have vaccinated the most young people, according to the CDC's data, are:Vermont: 61% of adolescents fully vaccinatedMassachusetts: 55%Connecticut: 51%Rhode Island: 49%Maryland: 49%The states with the fewest adolescents fully vaccinated, according to the CDC's data, are:Mississippi: 11%Alabama: 11%Louisiana: 13%Wyoming: 15%Tennessee: 17%However, a recent rise in vaccinations across the United States might lead to a rise in the percentage of teens vaccinated in those states. Across all ages, the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States has risen steadily over the past three weeks, particularly in several Southern states with poor vaccination rates and strong hesitancy against the shot, according to a separate CNN analysis of CDC data.Over the past two weeks, adolescents specifically have represented a larger share of new vaccinations than their share of the total population, CDC data shows. As COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations nationwide have recently increased, largely attributed to the spread of the more dangerous delta variant, so did the seven-day average of new vaccine doses administered -- up 26% from three weeks ago. Most people with severe cases of COVID-19 are unvaccinated. The spike in vaccinations is most striking in several Southern states dealing with lagging vaccination rates.Alabama's average, for instance, is more than double three weeks ago. The state has the country's lowest rate of its total population fully vaccinated, at 34%. Gov. Kay Ivey, on July 23, called out "the unvaccinated folks" for the rise in COVID-19 cases there.Arkansas, with just 36% of its population fully vaccinated, also has seen its average daily rate of doses administered double in the last three weeks. Louisiana, which had by far the most new cases per capita last week and only 37% of its population fully vaccinated, saw daily vaccination rates rise 111% compared to three weeks ago.

The number of people with coronavirus is surging again across the country. Just three states - Missouri, Texas, and Florida - account for 40% of new COVID-19 cases in this country right now.

"The delta virus is much more infectious. Its viral load is thousands of times higher than our previous variants. It's going to make even the average healthy person sick now," said Dr. Catherine O'Neal of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

The delta variant of the coronavirus is now more than 83% of all COVID-19 infections in this country. The three vaccines with emergency use authorization protect people at a high rate against serious illness or death from the delta variant.

"We do know that in our ICUs, we are seeing younger people intubated who are very sick or who are on the floors and are very sick. That should be a gigantic wake-up call," said Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham  

However, the vaccines are not 100% effective and as community spread increases, so do the number of vaccinated Americans who test positive and transmit the virus to others.

Even the White House has seen new breakthrough cases.

Now the Biden administration is talking with the CDC about whether masking guidelines should be updated.  

"We've never said that battle is over, it's still ongoing. It would more concerning -- or should be more concerning -- to you and the American people if we were not having those conversations," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday. 

CDC guidance currently says vaccinated Americans can resume normal activities without wearing a mask or social distancing.  

The problem though is, without mask mandates, unvaccinated Americans are also dropping their masks. Health officials fear the honor system is failing in many places.  

"We are always looking at the data as the data come in. Our guidance has been clear since, since we put it out several months ago," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday. 

The CDC says its guidance remains unchanged, but some vaccinated health experts say they are keeping their masks on.

"I have not really taken my mask off. I go outside and walk — I still have my mask. I certainly, when I go into the post office or the grocery store or the pharmacy, or any other place, I keep my mask on. It's added protection," Dr. Zeke Emanuel told CNN.

Jerome Adams, who was the U.S. Surgeon General under former President Donald Trump, wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post this week that called for the CDC to change their guidance.

"The agency urgently needs to revise its guidance on masking to combat the rapid growth in COVID-19 infections driven by the delta variant," he wrote.

"Without a mechanism to determine who is vaccinated and who is not, businesses and others have been helpless to determine which people were following the guidance — that is, vaccinated and safely unmasked — and which people were simply taking the opportunity to eschew a highly politicized (and widely loathed) public health intervention," Adams continued.

Kellan Howell contributed to this report.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new study that found a link between mask mandates and decreased COVID-19 cases and deaths.

According to the study, which compared data in counties where states require masks between last March and December, the spread of the virus slowed when local governments implemented mask mandates within 20 days of implementation.

COVID-19 death rates decreased by 1.9% points 100 days after the mandates were implemented, the study found.

The research found a significant link to the increase of COVID-19 cases and deaths and on-site dining at restaurants allowed by local governments for more than 40 days.

"Allowing on-premises restaurant dining was associated with an increase in daily COVID-19 case growth rates 41–100 days after implementation and an increase in daily death growth rates 61–100 days after implementation," researchers said. "Mask mandates and restricting any on-premises dining at restaurants can help limit community transmission of COVID-19 and reduce case and death growth rates. These findings can inform public policies to reduce community spread of COVID-19."

According to the research, dining at restaurants was linked to a 1.1% increase in the case growth rate 81-100 days later.

The study did not differentiate between indoor and outdoor dining.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Massive spring break crowds, states ending mask mandates, and the loosening of other COVID-19-related restrictions: all are playing a part in the country’s latest climb in COVID-19 cases.

“In fact, we have settled at a very high level of daily deaths, nearly 1,000, and now, we're starting to see cases go up again and starting to see hospital admissions go up again,” said Dr. Vivek Murthy. “This is deeply concerning because every time we've seen it in the past, it's led to another surge."

More than 30 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began last year. After cases declined in February, just in the past two weeks, there was a 20 percent jump in the daily number of COVID-19 cases, an average of 66,000 new cases every day.

“A fourth wave may be imminent,” said George Washington University’s Dr. Amanda Castel, who is an infectious disease epidemiologist.

Dr. Castel said spring break revelers, as well as gatherings and travel from the Easter and Passover holidays, could be tough on the nation’s COVID-19 response in the next few weeks, potentially spreading more mutations of the virus, known as variants.

“It's really important to note that we also do very limited surveillance for the variants in the United States. So, what we're seeing is really just the tip of the iceberg,” Dr. Castel said. “And we know that certain variants, like the U.K. variant, are more easily spread from person to person and may potentially lead to more severe infections.”

Beyond April looms another holiday, Memorial Day, that Dr. Castel says could lead to a potential uptick in COVID-19 cases and a possible fifth wave. She said what happens will depend on how many people get vaccinated by then.

“That's why it's so critical that we need to encourage people to get vaccinated as soon as possible, because we really are in a race, essentially, between the variants and vaccination," Dr. Castel explained.

It’s a race where the finish line hasn’t been crossed yet.

COVID-19 vaccinations in Ohio have been approved for children aged 12 and up and while a study is underway for children under 12, a vaccine for them may not be available until the fall.

In the meantime states, businesses and locations nationwide have begun dropping mask mandates, despite children under the age of 12 still remaining vulnerable.

Although the virus has typically hit younger populations with milder symptoms, Dr. Mary Carol Burkhardt with Cincinnati Children's Hospital said it's important for those kids to still wear masks.

"Anytime children are around people who are not in their immediate household, there continues to be risk there," said Burkhardt. "I would recommend if they are playing with kids in the neighborhood or families mixed together, even if they are outside, the safest thing to do if they are in close proximity would be to wear the mask."

Some school districts, like Mason City Schools, have made mask-wearing optional for staff and visitors, while Cincinnati Public Schools still require masks.

At the Cincinnati Zoo, masking rules have been relaxed for those who have had the vaccine -- it's only required in human-animal contact areas.

Megan Mears and her daughter decided to continue to wear theirs.

"In case we wanted to go inside, or in case it was overly crowded in some of the kids areas," said Mears.

Other visitors at the zoo were happy to shed the layer of fabric.

"For us, we feel confident when you're outside, especially when you're getting a lot of fresh air."

Burkhardt still recommends parents exercise caution with their unvaccinated children, both so they don't risk falling ill and so they don't risk carrying the virus to others who are unvaccinated.

"No vaccine is truly 100% so it is possible that somebody would have COVID but have very mild symptoms or be asymptomatic with COVID and could still transmit the virus in those cases," she said. "I think that's why, especially for instance in the healthcare community, even though we are vaccinated and we are still wearing masks."

As for immunity developed by those who have already had the virus, Burkhardt said the vaccine should still be taken by those who have recovered in the past, because the immunity provided by the vaccine is still stronger.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Airlines has banned an Alaska state senator from its flights for refusing to follow mask requirements.

An airline spokesman said Saturday that Republican Sen. Lora Reinbold, of Eagle River, had been informed and added the suspension was effective immediately.

Reinbold told the Anchorage Daily News that she had not been notified of a ban and that she hoped to be on an Alaska Airlines flight in the near future.

The ban comes after an incident last week at Juneau International Airport in which Reinbold was recorded apparently arguing with airport and Alaska Airlines staff about the mask policies.

The federal government requires masks aboard aircraft.

In some parts of America, sports just mean more.

St. Louis is one of those places.

“I bleed blue. I’m a true Blues fan, and they’re the best," said hockey fan Sarah Middleton.

Our lives can be shaped by what we love.

“They mean everything to me, besides of course my family and all that. They are like number one in my life," Middleton expressed.

During the pandemic shutdown, it’s been hard for fans to be distant from the field, the ice, the experience.

“You can't come in and get the same vibes at home," said Blues' fan Brandon Mixon.

Few know the power of a crowd more than Chris Kerber; he’s been the radio voice of the St. Louis Blues for more than two decades.

“Sports teams represent a city. They represent a fan base, they represent a region, they bring positivity," he said.

The city of St. Louis let the Blues start with around 1,400 fans in the arena in February.

For the NHL playoffs, the team will be allowed to fill half its arena.

Most cities’ health departments have followed the same framework, limiting the number of fans, even for outdoor games.

But in some places, like Georgia, Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves are playing outside to a packed stadium of fans, with no capacity limits.

“Safety is important. The fans want to come in the building. They want to feel safe they tell you," Kerber said.

This season, masks have been required. Seats are zip-tied to keep pods of fans socially distant.

All tickets are digital, and food and drink orders are cashless.

Fans can also use an app and have an order brought to their seats, so they don’t have to stand in line.

Kerber feels Blues fans have followed the rules to this point.

“We would not have been able to expand our capacity and bring more fans in if the fans didn’t comply with the orders and understand,” Kerber said.

Sports still feel different in 2021.

The St. Louis Cardinals have also limited fans this season and put COVID-19 measures in place.

"The number one thing is vaccinations, as those go up just continue to encourage people to get those vaccinations so we can return to normal," said Cardinals' Vice President of Stadium Operations Matt Gifford.

But being close to normal can only increase the desire for a full return.

“I can’t wait until we get back to full capacity and the boards are rocking again," Mixon said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a major shift, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Thursday that it’s easing its indoor mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people.

At a White House briefing, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer need to wear face coverings indoors or outdoors, in most settings.

“Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” said Walensky. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic. We have all longed for this moment, when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.”

Locations, such as health care facilities, will continue to follow their specific infection control recommendations, according to Walensky.

“This past year has shown us that this virus can be unpredictable, so if things get worse, there’s always a chance that we may need to make changes to these recommendations,” she said. “But we know that the more people who are vaccinated, the less cases we will have and the less chances of a new spike or additional variants emerging.”

Walensky said if you develop coronavirus symptoms, you should put your mask back on and get tested right away.

As for unvaccinated people, Walensky said they remain at risk of falling ill with COVID-19 or spreading the virus to others.

“You should still mask and you should get vaccinated right away,” Walensky advised those who haven't been vaccinated.

Watch the briefing below:

Walensky clarified later on in Thursday's briefing that the agency still recommends that masks be worn while traveling, including planes, trains and buses. Masks should also still be worn in transportation hubs, like airports.

The FAA reinforced that statement, tweeting, "If you are fully vaccinated, you are still required to wear a mask while at the airport and on the plane."

When asked if Thursday's decision was made to incentivize Americans to get vaccinated, Walensky said the agency was simply following the science. She said that there is now ample real-world evidence that vaccines are reducing the spread of the virus between fully-vaccinated people.

Fauci added during the briefing that while the science now points to the fact that Americans no longer need to wear masks, there may be some who choose to continue to wear them. He said that there is "not at all" anything wrong with choosing still wear masks, and added that those people "shouldn't be criticized."

Later on Thursday, President Joe Biden delivered remarks about the CDC's updated mask guidelines, during which he called the new guidance "a great milestone."

"Just a few hours ago, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, announced that they are no longer recommending that fully vaccinated people need wear masks. This recommendation holds true whether you are inside or outside. I think it's a great milestone, a great day," he said.

The CDC last updated its guidance for vaccinated people on April 27. In that update, the CDC said that fully-vaccinated Americans could safely participate in outdoor activities without a mask, so long as those activities did not involve large crowds.