With The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcing 70% or so of Americans now live in areas where they are no longer recommended to wear masks indoors in public settings, there seems to be light, however bright, at the end of the tunnel regarding the mask mandates.

At a press conference on Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “What the CDC is conveying is that America is in a stronger place today as a nation. We have more tools than ever before to protect ourselves from COVID-19: vaccination, boosters, treatments, testing, high-quality masks, improved ventilation. Over 200 million people are vaccinated. Nearly 100 million Americans have been boosted.”

Also, Gov. Janet Mills announced this week, “To that end, I have directed the Maine CDC to review this new federal guidance in order to inform Maine’s own recommendations as we enter a brighter, more hopeful period and take additional steps towards normalcy.” She continued, “Our guidance should be simple, straightforward, and reflect our assessment of the risk the virus poses in Maine. Throughout the pandemic, Maine people have stepped up, and with our positive downward trends, it is time that they feel a sense of relief too.”

Finally, the Lewiston School Committee, according to the Lewiston Sun-Journal, voted 7-2 Monday to implement optional masking on March 14, although Superintendent Jake Langlais has the authority to accelerate or delay the move to optional masking.

Lincoln County remains a high transmission county and it might be weeks or months before decisions like Lewiston’s and other schools, to allow optional masking are finalized.

According to the Maine CDC, as of Monday afternoon, only Kennebec, Somerset and Waldo counties made it into medium transmission territory where masks are only recommended for certain at-risk groups. The rest of Maine, home to around 84% of the state’s population, is a high-risk area for COVID-19, according to the U.S. CDC.

It has been a long road but at least there is some discussion about taking off the masks.

As Psaki concluded on the question at the press conference about the CDC’s guidance, “What we are trying to work towards is a period of time where we are – where COVID is not disrupting our daily lives.”

Amen to that.