CDC relaxes guidance for summer camps, saying kids don't always need masks
28 May 2021
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that vaccinated adolescents don't need to wear face masks if they attend camps this summer, and younger unvaccinated campers can generally go maskless when outdoors.
Why it matters: This spring's evolving public health recommendations have made it difficult for camps to plan programming, the Washington Post reports. The updated guidance aims to standardize the guidance.
What they're saying: If everyone is fully vaccinated prior to the start of the program, the camp can return to full capacity without mask or social distancing requirements.
- At camps where not everyone is vaccinated, inoculated people do not need to wear face coverings, but unvaccinated people are "strongly encouraged" to wear masks indoors. They should also wear masks outdoors when in close proximity to others.
- If there is no way to know who is and is not vaccinated, camps can defer to previous guidance recommending masks for all.
- "Although people who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks, camp programs should be supportive of campers or staff who choose to wear a mask," the CDC said. The guidance is intended for "all types of youth day and overnight camps."
The big picture: About 2.5 million adolescents ages 12 to 15 have had one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, a CDC team lead told the Post.
- The agency still urges everyone ages 12 and older to get the vaccine as soon as possible.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.