NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Local leaders in the Tri-State responded to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Thursday announcement easing mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, with New York and New Jersey taking a cautious approach and Connecticut embracing the new guidelines.
The CDC guidance still calls for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, trains, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters, but it will help clear the way for reopening workplaces, schools and other venues — even removing the need for social distancing for those who are fully vaccinated.
“Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities — large or small — without wearing a mask or physically distancing,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Thursday. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.”
The governors of both New York and New Jersey said they are reviewing the new federal guidelines. In the meantime, mask mandates will stay in place in the two states. However, in Connecticut, the governor said fully vaccinated people will soon be able to drop their masks in most places.
In a statement following the CDC announcement, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said health officials in New York were reviewing the guidance with partners in surrounding states.
“In New York, we have always relied on the facts and the science to guide us throughout the worst of this pandemic and in our successful reopening,” Cuomo said. “We have received the newly revised guidance from the CDC regarding mask wearing and social distancing for those with vaccinations and are reviewing them in consultation with (health commissioner) Dr. (Howard) Zucker and our partners and health experts in surrounding states.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city was also reviewing the guidance but that masks “will still be important” going forward.
“This is a monumental day in the fight against COVID,” de Blasio said in a statement. “We are reviewing the guidance because masks will still be important for schools, public transportation, healthcare and congregate settings and more.”
“But the message is clear: vaccinations are the way to bring our city, our lives, back,” the mayor said. “Get vaccinated. It’s safe, effective and millions of your neighbors have been vaccinated already. We have come so far—now we will reach the finish line together.”
Gov. Phil Murphy's office echoed Cuomo and de Blasio in saying only that the guidance was under review.
“Gov. Murphy and the New Jersey Department of Health are reviewing the new CDC guidance on masking requirements,” Murphy spokeswoman Alexandra Altman said. “We continue to move forward in our efforts to vaccinate all willing and eligible individuals who live, work, or study in New Jersey.”
Meanwhile, Gov. Ned Lamont said that the state would end its indoor mask mandate for fully vaccinated people on May 19 given the new CDC guidance.
“If you’re fully vaccinated, you don’t have to wear a mask. If you’re not fully vaccinated, you’ve got to wear a mask indoors,” Lamont said. “I hope that people in Connecticut understand why the CDC set those guidelines. They probably make a certain amount of sense, and I think the vast majority of people will follow that.”
The CDC's new guidance is likely to open the door to confusion, since there is no surefire way for businesses or others to distinguish between those who are fully vaccinated and those who are not.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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