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As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations tick up in the United States, multiple institutions say they are reinstating mask mandates, at least temporarily.
Morris Brown College, a historically Black college and university in Atlanta, made the announcement in a letter written to faculty, staff and students by President Dr. Kevin James and posted on Facebook.
“Over the next 14 days…all students and employees are required to wear face masks (staff may remove in their offices while alone),” the letter read.
Meanwhile, Lionsgate, the entertainment company, said certain employees at headquarters are being required to wear masks again.
“The LA County Department of Public Health is requiring Lionsgate employees on the 3rd & 5th floors of our 2700 Colorado Avenue headquarters in Santa Monica to wear masks due to a cluster of COVID cases,” Peter Wilkes, chief communications officer for Lionsgate, told ABC News in an email. “It is the policy of the LA County Department of Health to require masking in workplaces that have a cluster of cases.”
Additionally, several hospitals across the U.S. are reintroducing mask mandates for staff, patients and visitors, according to multiple reports.
Even as the country heads into fall with the start of schools and cooler weather, meaning more people spending time indoors, experts agree they don’t currently envision a widespread return to mask mandates.
Last week, COVID hospitalizations rose for the fifth consecutive week, according to the CDC.
The experts say there may be instances where masking is useful, such as being around people who are at high risk for severe complications, such as the elderly and the immunocompromised but — unless an omicron-like surge occurs — people may want to consider masking based on their own risk tolerance.
For the week ending Aug. 12, hospitalizations rose 21.6% from 10,370 new admissions to 12,612, CDC data shows. Despite the increase, it’s still among the lowest hospitalizations recorded since the pandemic began.