The Delta variant is spreading. Will you have to wear a mask again? "When the CDC made the recommendation to quit masking, it didn’t anticipate being in a situation where we might need to recommend masking again." With a new variant of the coronavirus rapidly spreading across the globe, masks are again the focus of conflicting views, and fears, about the course of pandemic and the restrictions required to manage it. Saul Martinez/The New York Times By Roni Caryn Rabin, Apoorva Mandavilli and Shawn Hubler, New York Times Service June 29, 2021 1 Throughout the pandemic, masks have ranked among the most contentious public health measures in the United States, symbolizing a bitter partisan divide over the role of government and individual liberties.