As Michigan lowers mask recommendations, a new study finds 73% of Americans are immune to omicron
Rules around face masks changing in Michigan for both schools and businesses
Among the biggest businesses to drop their mask requirement recently was MotorCity Casino and Hotel, which said this week guests would no longer need to wear one. A day after they did, the health department dropped its face mask recommendation for public settings.
DETROIT - Michigan says it's in the recovery phase following the state's latest outbreak following the COVID-19 omicron wave. An estimated 73% of Americans are immune from the variant, a new study finds - a figure that could rise to 80% by mid-March.
The sheer volume of reported and unreported COVID-19 cases from the recent wave, mixed with the vaccine and booster rates among Americans could offer enough protection countrywide that future spikes will spark far less disruption to society in the coming months.
And on Wednesday, Michigan dropped its mask recommendation for public settings, including schools.
It's about as good an outlook during the pandemic that people have been given since last summer when cases had dropped and the summer offered a temporary return to normalcy.
"I am optimistic even if we have a surge in summer, cases will go up, but hospitalizations and deaths will not," Ali Mokdad told the Associated Press. The University of Washington in Seattle professor works on the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model, which calculated the 73% figure.
This will prevent or shorten new illnesses in protected people and reduce the amount of virus circulating overall, likely tamping down new waves. Hospitals will get a break from overwhelmed ICUs, experts agree.
Masks are still recommended in certain high-risk settings, like long-term nursing facilities and jails. And some experts believe it may be too early to ease off the pandemic protection gas pedal.
"I think maybe we’re a little soon," said Dr. Matthew Sims of Beaumont.
Sims is director of infectious disease research - and says to approach this news with cautious optimism, as masks inside are still the safer option. "It’s a recognition that we’re coming out of the surge, and that’s great," Sims said. "It’s also a recognition that we have to be vigilant."
Covid remains a pressing public health concern in Wayne County, where case rates remain high even while falling.
"What we plan to do in the city of Detroit, we are going to look at our data over next couple of weeks," said Denise Fair Razo, Detroit's chief public health officer. "So we’re going to look at our percent positivity, our case rates, our hospitalizations, and see if they continue to go down. If they do so, then our recommendations may change."
They're also handing out free KN-95 masks Thursday - 10 face coverings per adult per vehicle. You can find the list of where they're being handed out here.
But as masks becoming more available, businesses are scaling back their requirements for them. MotorCity Casino and Hotel recently announced it would be dropping its face mask requirement - the first casino in Detroit to do so.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report