The Centers if Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has eased the restrictions around mask wearing in public. On Tuesday, the organization announced that fully vaccinated Americans can be mask free outside of their homes, but still need to wear one in a big crowd of strangers.
On the other hand, the eased mask restrictions for the unvaccinated people have been eased as well, but only in some situations.
The CDC Director, Rochelle Walensky, said, “Today, I hope, is a day when we can take another step back to the normalcy of before. Over the past year, we have spent a lot of time telling Americans what you can’t do. Today, I am going to tell you some of the things you can do, if you are fully vaccinated.”
As scheduled, President Joe Biden also announced the new changes from the White House. He told, “Beginning today, gathering with a group of friends in a park, going for a picnic, as long as you are vaccinated and outdoors, you can do it without a mask. If you’re vaccinated, you can do more things, more safely, both outdoors as well as indoors.”
The changes have been considered as the country has achieved herd immunity with more than half of US adults being vaccinated. According to Walensky, the decision was made considering the increase in vaccination numbers, reduction in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths; and research showing that less than 10% of documented instances of transmission of the virus happened outdoors.
Biden also urged the unvaccinated people to get the shot. He said, “For those who haven’t gotten their vaccination yet, especially if you’re younger, or think you don’t need it, this is another great reason to go get vaccinated now… now.”
As per the officials, fully vaccinated Americans can be unmasked while exercising, dining and socializing outdoors in small groups. They can also gather indoors with other fully vaccinated people and family members without masks or social distancing.
According to the CDC, a person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the after the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or two weeks after the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. As per the new CDC update, the fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to cover their faces anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers.