Technologies

CDC and WHO recommend fully vaccinated should wear masks indoors. Here’s the latest

The CDC recently updated its stance to say fully vaccinated people should wear masks in certain areas. We’ll explain what’s going on.

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors again in some areas — including schools — it announced during a telebriefing Tuesday. This is different from its guidance earlier in July that said it’s safe for teachers and students who are fully vaccinated to skip the face masks. So why the sudden change? A spike in COVID-19 cases across the US caused by the highly contagious delta variant has resulted in the CDC updating its guidance for mask wearing.

The World Health Organization continues to recommend that to slow the rapidly spreading delta variant, everyone should continue to wear face masks in crowded areas, even people who are past the two-week mark after receiving their second vaccine dose, for example from Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca.

Both the WHO and CDC agree that people who aren’t vaccinated should continue to wear face masks. But given the high rate of protection that vaccinated people have against the delta variant and other COVID strains, why are some medical experts in conflict about a barrier over your nose and mouth? We continue to update this story.

CDC guidance: Fully vaccinated should continue wearing masks in some areas

The CDC on Tuesday changed its guidance for mask wearing to say that vaccinated people should continue wearing masks indoors in certain areas of the country. This includes areas where COVID-19 cases are on the rise. It also changed the guidance for K-12 schools, saying everyone should wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status. Earlier this month, it said fully vaccinated teachers and students don’t need to wear masks inside the school.

Originally, the guidelines said those who are fully vaccinated can «resume activities without wearing masks or physically distancing» except where required, such as in planes and businesses. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky previously stuck to that guidance on NBC’s Today show on June 30, saying fully vaccinated people are protected from the delta variant.

The CDC warned CNN that there’s still a small chance fully vaccinated people can become infected with the new variant if they’re exposed. We’ve asked the CDC for comment.

What is the CDC’s new guidance for kids and teachers?

Those who aren’t vaccinated — ages 2 and up — need to wear a mask while inside but don’t have to when they’re outside. For fully vaccinated teachers and students, the CDC recommends continuing to wear masks inside the school building.

For child care programs, regarding schools with children younger than 12, universal mask use can be implemented, as children this age aren’t eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines yet. Mask mandates can also go into effect if coronavirus transmission is high in that community.

For schools that can’t provide adequate physical distancing, the CDC says «layered COVID-19 prevention strategies» should be put in place to protect kids and teachers who aren’t fully vaccinated.

Why are experts at odds over masks for vaccinated people?

In June, WHO officials repeated a longstanding recommendation that everyone should wear masks to stem the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, the CDC until Tuesday had been continuing to uphold its guidance that not all fully vaccinated Americans need to wear masks indoors or maintain social distancing. White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said that those who’ve had two doses of the vaccine should still «go the extra step» of wearing a mask when traveling to places with low vaccination rates.

A few days after the WHO recommended that people who have received the COVID-19 vaccine should continue wearing a face mask, Fauci explained why the advice differed from the CDC’s. «There’s a reason for that,» he said in a virtual White House press briefing. «The WHO is responsible for the planet as a whole. It’s different in the world in general from here in the United States.»

So, while the WHO is monitoring the pandemic around the world, with a majority of people unvaccinated, the CDC is responding to the situation in the US, where the vaccines have been shown to work quite effectively against hospitalization from the delta variant. Only 13.9% of the global population is fully vaccinated, according to vaccine tracker site Our World in Data. The US nearly quadruples that number: 49.7% of Americans are considered fully vaccinated as of July 4, according to the Mayo Clinic.

For Fauci and the CDC, the focus is on getting a greater number of Americans vaccinated in the first place. On July 4, Fauci said that 99.2% of COVID-related deaths last month involved unvaccinated people.

What is WHO’s position on mask wearing?

Wearing a mask consistently continues to be important, even for people who are vaccinated, a WHO official said during a press briefing in late June. «People cannot feel safe just because they had the two doses. They still need to protect themselves.»

Wearing masks in public places is essential to keep people from inhaling particles that will cause them to become sick, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an American infectious disease epidemiologist, said during the same briefing.

While the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are showing robust protection against variants, «breakthrough» infections may still sporadically occur. In a case in early June, a fully vaccinated woman in Napa, California, died from COVID-19. She was over 65 and was reported to have underlying medical conditions.

Why is the coronavirus delta variant serious?

The delta variant is the latest of new coronavirus variants and is the most contagious of the variants identified so far, according to the WHO. The delta variant has been identified in 96 countries so far and is spreading among the unvaccinated population, the organization said during the press conference.

«The delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the US to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19,» Fauci said during a White House press briefing on June 22.

Will there be new mask mandates or tighter restrictions?

Some countries have already begun tightening COVID-19 restrictions. For instance, four cities across Australia have returned to lockdown, including Sydney’s state of New South Wales. In the US, Los Angeles County is strongly recommending face masks indoors, regardless of whether someone has been vaccinated, though masks aren’t required in most places. Some countries within Africa and Asia — for instance, South Africa and Malaysia — have also moved into lockdown due to the delta variant spreading.

Some places never loosened mask mandates, such as airports and airlines. In the US, other public transportation facilities require masks, such as buses and trains.

For more information, here’s what you need to know about «long COVID» and how it’s treated. Also, read up on these COVID-19 vaccine side effects and important dos and don’ts of getting your COVID-19 vaccine.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 7, #972

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Feb. 7 #972

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is super-tricky. You’ll need to know your symbols to match them up accordingly. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Roll those bones.

Green group hint: Math time.

Blue group hint: A comma is one.

Purple group hint: Not uppercase.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Pips on a die.

Green group: Symbols used in arithmetic.

Blue group: Punctuation marks.

Purple group: Lowercase letters.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

First, here’s that grid full of symbols again.

And here are the answers, sorted into groups.

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is pips on a die. The four answers are five, four, three and two.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is symbols used in arithmetic. The four answers are divided by, equals, minus and plus.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is punctuation marks. The four answers are colon, ellipsis, period and quotation mark.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is lowercase letters. The four answers are I, L, T and X.

Technologies

Black Ops 7 Double XP Weekend and Free Trial Are Live Now

Whether you already own Black Ops 7 or you’re taking advantage of the free weekend, level up your account twice as fast during this double XP weekend.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 developer Treyarch is letting new players try the game for free this weekend with a new multiplayer free trial. Even if you haven’t bought Black Ops 7, you can try out the game’s Zombies and Multiplayer modes during this time. If you’re already knee-deep in the latest Call of Duty game, there’s still something to get excited over — a double XP weekend is running in tandem with the free weekend, letting you level up twice as fast as you cut down new and returning players.

The latest double XP weekend is live now, featuring a sole double account level XP boost this time around. This double XP weekend runs from Thursday, Feb. 5, to Monday, Feb. 9. Anyone playing Black Ops 7 during the event period has a universal double account XP earn rate applied to their account. If you log in now, you can hop into battle and reap the rewards of this double XP weekend right away.

Unlike other double XP weekends, this event doesn’t feature the Quad Feed boost. That means players won’t be able to benefit from all four customary double XP weekend boosts at the same time. Your double XP tokens will also be locked for the duration of the event.

Here’s everything you need to know about this double XP weekend. If you’re looking for something else to play, see our recommendations for the best game subscription services.

When does the double XP weekend start in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7?

This double XP weekend kicked off Thursday at 1 p.m. ET and is live now.

Not sure when the double XP weekend went live for you? Here’s when the event started in your time zone:

ET: Feb. 5 at 1 p.m.
CT: Feb. 5 at noon.
MT: Feb. 5 at 11 a.m.
PT: Feb. 5 at 10 a.m.

It’s always worth starting your game before your gaming session, if possible. As with every Black Ops 7 patch, the update will require you to download new content and restart the application.

When does the double XP weekend end in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7?

Some double XP «weekends» are much longer events, lasting five to seven days. The current double XP weekend isn’t nearly that long. This double XP weekend will end on Monday. Your double XP tokens will once again unlock after this time.

Here’s when the double XP weekend will end in your time zone:

ET: Feb. 9 at 1 p.m.
CT: Feb. 9 at noon.
MT: Feb. 9 at 11 a.m.
PT: Feb. 9 at 10 a.m.

Does Call of Duty Warzone have double XP this weekend?

Call of Duty Warzone has a double XP weekend running in tandem with Black Ops 7. That means Warzone players will also be able to benefit from this boost by leveling up their accounts, weapons and battle passes at twice the normal speed.

New players have a chance to level up the weapons they unlock from the new and improved Warzone Armory, and returning players can continue unlocking new attachments for the suite of Black Ops 7 weaponry added to Warzone.

Black Ops 7 double XP FAQ

Technologies

Trump Phone Looks Different, Costs More and Won’t Be Made in the US, Report Shows

The T1 looks different (again), and its specs and pricing have changed, according to a model handset shown in a video call to The Verge.

Trump Mobile executives have shown off a handset they say is a near-production model of the T1 phone to The Verge, according to a report Friday afternoon. Among other appearance changes, the smartphone appears to have a completely different camera array design than the one still shown on the T1 purchase page.

The Verge says it spoke with two Trump Mobile executives over a video call, where they held up the phone so it could be seen. The interview follows doubts about whether the phone will ever be released, after its second advertised launch date of the end of 2025 came and went without any status updates.

As of Feb. 6, the phone’s webpage still lists it as being released «later this year,» which is the same thing it said last year.

Trump Mobile launched in June last year with a $47.45-a-month mobile phone plan, and currently sells refurbished Apple and Samsung phones ranging from $369 to $629 while the wait for the T1 phone continues.

The Trump phone, initially announced to be made in the US, was supposed to launch in August 2025. But when it became clear that domestic large-scale smartphone manufacturing would not be possible, Trump Mobile dropped the «made in the US» claim.

Now, the site simply calls the phone «Proudly American» without specifying what that means for a device manufactured overseas.

The site is still accepting $100 deposits on the phone. The website claims it will have a 6.25-inch punch-hole AMOLED screen, a 50MP main rear camera with two 2MP lenses, a 16MP front-facing camera, a 5,000-mAh battery, a fingerprint sensor, face unlock and 256GB of expandable storage.

According to the model that The Verge saw on its video call this week, however, the screen looks a little larger and has a waterfall display with curved edges, as well as a vertical camera array. That one will reportedly run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7-series processor, feature 512GB of storage, and include a 50MP front-facing camera. According to the report, the T1 logo will also disappear before launch, though the phone will keep the American flag imagery.

It’ll also now cost more, according to the report. Those who have already put down a $100 deposit are locked into the $499 total price, but everyone else who wants this golden Trump phone will pay an unknown amount more. It will be under $1,000, the report says.

According to the executives speaking to The Verge, the phone has been delayed because the company decided to take its time and «skip our first initial entry-level phone that we were going to kind of introduce and be quick to the market.» They told The Verge it’s being made in a «favored nation» with «final assembly» in Florida. It’s unclear what qualifies another nation as «favored» to handle most of the assembly of the T1 phone.

There’s no word yet on the T1 phone’s launch date, but its sellers are reportedly eyeing a March release window.

You can read the full report on The Verge, including photos of the phone as it currently looks. Trump Mobile did not immediately respond to a request for comment.