Masks aren’t forever, but they are for now, says Biden COVID-19 adviser

The senior adviser for the White House’s COVID-19 response team encouraged Americans to keep wearing masks as a preventative measure on Friday, as some states lift their mandates amid declining case numbers.

“The [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and public health officials locally, at the state level and nationally are all clear: Wear a mask, not forever, but for now,” Andy Slavitt said during a briefing on Friday. “Wear a mask now so that we can get to a place where you don’t have to.”

“And this is not just the voice of cautious public health experts, it is what businesses who want to remain open and many public officials of both parties who’ve lived through the last year are saying,” Slavitt added.

Texas and Mississippi both lifted their mask mandates and capacity restrictions on businesses on Tuesday, though health experts warn newer, more contagious variants of the coronavirus could cause spikes in infections even as vaccinations increase.

“Progress demonstrates we can defeat COVID-19, but it does not equal success,” Slavitt said. “It may seem tempting in the face of all of this progress to try to rush back to normalcy as if the virus is in the rear-view mirror. It’s not.”