The CDC on Sunday recommended canceling or postponing all events nationwide with more than 50 people — the most aggressive federal guidance issued yet in the worsening the coronavirus crisis.

The new guidelines on mass gatherings apply for the next eight weeks, the CDC said, and exclude schools, higher education institutions and businesses. The agency also specified that the guidelines would not take precedence over rules imposed by individual states.


“This recommendation is made in an attempt to reduce introduction of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus,” the CDC said. The agency cited conferences, parades and weddings as examples of large gatherings.