Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that although the agency is not changing mask guidance at the time being, it is reviewing its recommendations and shifting its focus toward hospitalizations as a key metric for determining tighter pandemic protocols, CNBC reports Wednesday. 

“We must consider hospital capacity as an additional important barometer,” Walensky said during a Wednesday COVID-19 response briefing. “We want to give people a break from things like mask wearing when these metrics are better and then have the ability to reach for them again should things worsen.” That said, again, new guidelines are not yet in place, and there are still certain situations in which masking is highly recommended, such as exposure or infection.

The agency currently recommends people in areas with high viral transmission wear masks regardless of vaccination status. “Nearly every county in the U.S. has high transmission right now,” CNBC reports, per CDC data.

NBC News also reported Wednesday that the CDC is apparently expected to loosen indoor masking guidelines perhaps “as early as next week,” per individuals familiar with the matter. 

The White House has, as of late, been hoping for an update to the CDC’s indoor guidelines but did not want to put pressure on the agency, NBC News notes.

Meanwhile, several Democratic governors have already gone ahead and announced plans to lift mask mandates, beating the federal government to the punch.