CDC scientist says new metrics to guide Covid-19 restrictions could come as early as Friday

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will announce new metrics to guide Covid-19 restrictions such as mask-wearing as early as Friday or possibly in the early part of next week, according to a CDC scientist directly involved with the process.

The CDC currently says that people who live in counties with substantial or high levels of Covid-19 transmission should wear masks indoors. The agency will not be changing that guidance but will be changing the way it assesses "community levels of disease," by shifting from looking at cases alone to looking at "meaningful consequences" of the virus such as hospitalizations, emergency room visits and deaths.

In the current map, 97% of counties are at substantial or high transmission. The scientist said the updated metrics will result in fewer counties at the highest levels of transmission.