Central District Health: 'CDC recommendations make sense'

BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Tuesday that fully vaccinated Americans in parts of the country with "substantial or high transmission" of COVID-19 should return to wearing masks indoors, citing new data on the highly contagious Delta variant.

The CDC also said masks should be required of everyone inside K-12 schools while urging classrooms to return to full-time, in-person classes "with proper prevention strategies" in place.

In Idaho, with a low rate of vaccination, Central District Health Director Russ Duke embraces the new guidelines and says the big question is whether Covid will get increasingly worse and put us in a situation like we were in last November.

"I don't know," Duke told CBS2. "But as we move in that direction, and as our hospital capacity is stressed, I don't see how the CDC or the actions we take in this state from a recommendation standpoint can go anywhere but become more strict. Bottom line is it comes down to distancing, masking and for certain getting vaccinated"

That's why Duke welcomes the new CDC recommendations on masking up in the face of the worrisome Delta Variant.

"I think CDC recommendations are fair, based on what we're seeing at this time in our country and in Idaho," Duke said. "I think to start wearing masks in indoor public settings and in K-12 regardless of vaccination status makes sense. I don't think it's overly burdensome."

But Duke knows full well many Idahoans believe it's more than burdensome.

They believe masks and vaccinations, especially required vaccinations and masks, are a violation of their constitutional rights.

"If I had to share what is my biggest fear," he said, "It is a good proportion of our community may not respond like we need them to do, doing the basic things. And our hospitals will start turning away people, and EMS will be unable to respond to emergencies. That will get people's attention. I hope we don't get there, but people are tired, they want to move on but if we don't start taking these precautions, that's where we're heading."

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