A new report about the link between face masks and COVID-19 cases and deaths "serves as a warning" about the dangers of lifting mask mandates prematurely, Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Friday.
The news comes as California announced more relaxed rules: State officials are allowing people in limited groups to attend Major League Baseball games and go to Disneyland, beginning the first week of April.
A recent CDC report found that mask mandates were associated with decreases in COVID-19 cases and deaths whereas reopening dining was associated with increases.
Daily COVID-19 cases and deaths have plateaued around 60,000 to 70,000 cases per day and 2,000 deaths per day, numbers that are still "too high" and around where they were in the summer surge, Walensky said at a White House COVID-19 news conference.