Not taking a position on either side, just relaying information.
CNBC: CDC to reverse indoor mask policy, saying fully vaccinated people should wear them indoors in Covid hot spots.
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With the delta strain rewriting the playbook this comes as no surprise.
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I would wait for an actual CDC announcement. This is speculation probably based on a leak. Lots can change in a day or two.
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And what is a place with a high transmission rate?
I don’t know what the definition of a high transmission rate is but, I would in any area that has a low vaccination right like Southwest Missouri and. I also if I was driving through Texas and in the rural areas I would go into the convenience store service station to use of facilities since those areas tend to be low vaccinated areas. I don’t know is that a high transmission right we are in a orange
Fort worth has an 18% transmission rate, the threshhold is 15%.
Since this is something that can change daily I would say the existing policy at DMS is still appropriate. That’s my two cents.
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For those curious here’s the info directly from the CDC.
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If I understand correctly the map will be updated daily. The board could say masks are required now and next week Dallas county might be below the threshold. I think this is not a good path to go down.
Or the board could say masks are required if the CDC map says so. Though I think communication with members will be an issue if that becomes the policy. Communication is already a problem and it’s not potentially changing daily… New-new policies? 
https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Covid-19_reopening_rules#Facemasks
https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/New-covid-19-policies
The current stance at DMS is masks are “highly recommended” which I think is appropriate. I think the next best thing would be to follow the CDC map in lockstep but I suspect this will cause some confusion and conflict with members. It’s nice that the CDC is making targeted recommendations but a lot of people aren’t going to keep up with the daily targeted information. Worth the effort and strife? I think probably not but if the board thinks so then I’m good with it. I’m not on an anti-mask freedom train. Just figuring if the juice is worth the squeeze. I’m curious to see what Dallas area businesses decide to do. 
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Suspect they’re even wearier of mask mandates than the local public and fail to see the upside of irritating a vocal - and growing - slice of their customer base after 2020’s bitter hit to income. Any establishment not already enforcing a mask policy seems unlikely to re-enact one now short of a government order.
Whether this is the right thing to do is wholly up for debate, but the fatigue out there is real.
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One example for a Dallas business. My workplace had let us remove masks in the back workshop areas starting about 6 weeks ago after we were all fully vaccinated (with one holdout, who had to remain masked).
As of two weeks ago we’ve reinstated full masking plus much stricter policing of customers and delivery staff. We have also had two breakthrough cases with fully vaccinated staff (out of a total of 14 employees).
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Just a reminder. The CDC suggests that R95 masks are the most effective but also suggests first responders should be given priority to access to these masks. There is no comment on the clothy things most of us use. Also, R95 masks have a time limit. They should be replaced after 4-8 consecutive hours depending on the environment. I don’t know if this is cumulative and if you can use one on and off for 4-8 hours. If you use an r95 mask and then take it off, you are exposing a warm moist surface to airborne bacteria, Just saying. If you are at risk, just as a suggestion, find some R95 masks. I have my own opinions but I don’t want the thread shut down by expressing them.
The recommendation for the vaccinated to wear masks is to protect the unvaccinated. I’m unsure why we should be concerned about it if they’re not, and in fact, they will be the ones not wearing masks despite the recommendations/orders.
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Healthcare authorities in the US - i.e. CDC, FDA, NIH - certify N95 masks. Other standards such as KN95 and FFP2 are all but equivalent, but not certified for regular use in healthcare settings (I believe that KN95 has an emergency authorization so long as a verified manufacturer is used and logistics chain of custody can be demonstrated). For casual use, quality masks using comparable standards offer near-identical performance.
Presently, N95s can again be sourced from the likes of the Home Despot over the counter, thus there do not seem to be any critical healthcare/first-responder shortages.
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Yes, you are correct. But again, most of us are using a CLOTH mask. Definitely not an equivalent to r95 masks. So even if we are all masking, people at risk need to be aware and decide if they should attend makerspace events. That was my only point.
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Laughs in Greatest Generation.
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Oh I know - mask usage at peak seemed divided between surgical masks and cloth masks with the purchase decision on the latter being primarily the choice of print or other visual aesthetic. Some fraction of cloth mask users may have been opting to use filter inserts - FFP2 inserts were widely available - but I suspect that was a minority. Usage of N95, KN95, setups like mine, half-face respirators were quite unusual.
While N95s have seemingly only recently become available, FFP2 / KN95 was never hard to find.
Maybe I haven’t had enough coffee this morning, but I’m probably missing the reference.
Rightly or wrongly (and in my view, the latter) , the public seems to have decided that the pandemic is over. The ~half of the region’s population that’s been vaccinated has lost interest in the inconveniences of social distancing and masking. The other ~half of the population didn’t take much of a shine to the likes of social distancing and masking. The older one got the more likely one was to be in the latter category.
The “greatest generation” reference is to the “pandemic fatigue,” over the simple acts of wearing a mask and not getting up in each others’ personal space indoors. Imagine the same attitude in mid-1943, after 18 months of WW2. “We’re tired of not having sugar and gasoline, bring the troops home.”
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