AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's announcement Thursday that fully-vaccinated people can take off their masks in most indoor and outdoor settings, local leaders aren't quite ready to throw away their masking policies and guidelines.
Austin ISD officials became the latest to weigh in Friday morning, announcing the district will continue its mask policy through the end of the year, including at graduation ceremonies.
"Since we have no way to verify vaccination statuses and, until this week, most of our students were not yet eligible to be vaccinated, Austin ISD will continue to require masking through the rest of the school year and with graduation ceremonies," AISD officials said in a tweet.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler addressed the new CDC guidance Thursday, saying that Austin Public Health officials would be issuing new masking and distancing guidance in the coming days, and continuing to urge everyone to get vaccinated.
Minor league baseball saw its 2020 season canceled due to the pandemic; more than six thousand fans were in attendance at last week's Round Rock Express home opener. Masks are no longer required at the ballpark, although the team has set aside some areas where social distancing is still enforced for those who are more comfortable.
Many large retailers say they'll continue to keep their mask policies in place, at least for now. Target, Starbucks, and Macy's have all said they plan to continue their mask policies, while Walmart, Home Depot, Walgreens, and CVS officials all said they were re-evaluating policies in the wake of the new CDC guidance.
It's a situation that merchants have found themselves in before - when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the state's mask mandate on March 10, many Austin retailers continued to maintain their mask policies, including H-E-B and Whole Foods.
