- Hope is on the horizon

in America's fight against COVID-19.

The CDC announcing relaxedmask guidelines this week.

But health officials are also cautioning

our return to normal hingeson as many people as possible

getting fully and quickly vaccinated.

For more on how Americans

are reacting to the new guidelines,

we go to CBN News CapitolHill correspondent,

Abigail Robertson.

Abby, I take it a lot of people are happy

about these new guidelines.

- Oh, that's right, John.

And we're still seeingsome people cautious

to ditch their mask outdoors,

but for the most part, manypeople are celebrating this news

and especially as we're seeing

temperatures outside warm up.

- I think everyone's kinda ready for this.

- [Abigail] The CDC recommendsfully vaccinated individuals

keep wearing masks at indoorevents like worship services,

but many churches in stateswithout mask mandates

are letting their parishioners decide

whether or not they want to mask up.

- I think it's really important,

particularly within the body of Christ,

that you respect personal agency.

- [Abigail] A group calledChristians and the Vaccine

wants to help pastorsseparate fact from fiction

when it comes to discussing the vaccine

with their congregations.

- I do think that we just have an issue

that a lot of people in the congregation

are not looking to pastors for leadership

on this particular area

and the people they arelooking to for leadership

are manufacturing anawful lot of distrust.

- [Abigail] But as the US starts to see

the first glimmers of normalcy-

- There's no medicalfacility, proper facility.

- [Abigail] The world'sworst COVID outbreak

is unfolding in India.

(siren wails)

- The healthcare systemhas collapsed around us.

Hospitals have shut their gates,

places are running out of medical oxygen,

there's no ventilators to spare,

medicine has run short

and so many people aredesperate to get help.

- [Abigail] With overcrowded hospitals,

people are begging for medicalassistance in the streets.

And in New Delhi, makeshiftcrematoriums are popping up

to handle the increased casualties.

- They're setting up sites

next to the official cremation grounds,

in empty lots and parking lots and parks

and they're lighting on firedozens of bodies at once.

- [Abigail] Countries likethe UK are racing to help,

flying in ventilatorsand oxygen contractors.

President Joe Biden alsopledging US support.

- We'll be able to sendactual vaccines to India,

which would be my intention to do.

- Even with help on the way,

the situation is quicklyspiraling out of control

and health experts in India fear

that we haven't even seen thepeak of the current crisis.