Americans who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus no longer need to wear masks or engage in social distancing in most situations—both indoors and outdoors—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Thursday.
The new guidance represents a major step toward America’s return to pre-pandemic “normal life.”
And as many Americans would add, “It’s about time!”
In some situations, however, including while riding on trains, planes or buses, and while visiting hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters, the CDC still wants Americans to be masked.
The Thursday announcement arrived two weeks after the agency said that fully vaccinated people could drop the mask-wearing out of doors, since the risk of transmission outside is very, very minimal.
“At the time, the agency said the risk of COVID-19 transmission [outdoors] was less than 10 percent—but experts said this week that figure was still overstated and that the risk is likely less than 1 percent,” as The New York Post pointed out.
The same outlet reported that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo isn’t quite ready to have fully vaccinated people drop their masks in the Big Apple. In a Thursday afternoon statement, Cuomo said “he and Health Commissioner Howard Zucker had yet to decide if the Empire State would adopt newly announced guidelines” from the CDC.
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—By CNJ Staff
