On April 4, 2020 (maybe 3rd US timezone) the CDC updated their website to recommend EVERYONE wear a “cloth face covering” in public, including children, and still stay 6 feet apart, as everyone is now a potential spreader of disease. Previously only those sick or attending the sick need to mask. The science on masks never changed.
The change came following their March 27, 2020 MMWR early website publication of a study of 23 elderly residents who tested PCR positive in a nursing home, 13 of which had no symptoms at the time of testing, 10 of those developed “symptoms” at assessment 7 days later. Symptoms were defined as “fever, cough and shortness of breath”, which can occur for many reasons.
On March 30, 2020 it was reported that the CDC sent their updated guidance to the Whitehouse task force and HHS recommending universal masking a complete flip to their previous position. [1]
Timeline on masks – HERE