Becker's Healthcare January 25, 2022
Once U.S. COVID-19 cases decline significantly, mask mandates and restrictions on indoor gatherings should be relaxed, according to Ashish Jha, MD.
In a series of Jan. 24 tweets, Dr. Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health in Providence, R.I., explained that pausing public health restrictions once the current surge recedes will preserve people’s willingness to comply with such restrictions if they’re needed again in the future.
“As case numbers fall and hospital capacity improves meaningfully, we should relax public health restrictions, including relaxing mask mandates and indoor gathering limits,” Dr. Jha wrote.
“Why not leave them on? Because mask mandates are costly and should be used sparingly, and because during future surges, we may need...