At least 10 states have adjusted their mask-wearing rules after the CDC updated its guidelines, saying fully vaccinated Americans could discard masks outdoors and, in many situations, indoors. The new guidelines, announced last week by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represent a major step toward a return to normalcy for a nation battered and, at times, divided by a pandemic that has lasted more than a year.
“Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” Walensky said. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.”
In light of these new recommendations, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Ohio, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Kentucky, Washington, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, North Carolina, Kansas, Colorado and Rhode Island announced plans to fall in line with the CDC guidance either immediately or in the coming weeks.
“When you get vaccinated, the CDC says it is safe to take that mask off, so go on out, get that shot,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said. “Let’s defeat this pandemic once and for all.”
Meanwhile, New Jersey and Hawaii joined a handful of states that said they won’t yet relax requirements for residents. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Friday said it could be weeks before the Garden State follows the CDC’s latest guidance. And Hawaii’s Governor David Ige said, “We are unable to determine who is vaccinated and who is not vaccinated. The best mitigation measure is for everyone to wear a mask.”
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