NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced that the state will lift the remaining COVID-19 restrictions once 70% of New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
"When we are at 70%, I feel comfortable to lift restrictions," Cuomo said of guidelines across commercial and social settings.
That means capacity restrictions, social distancing, cleaning and disinfection, health screening, and contact information for tracing purposes would become optional for retail, food services, offices, gyms and fitness centers, amusement and family entertainment, hair salons, barber shops and personal care services, among other commercial settings.
Once the state reaches that goal, mask rules would apply only to situations where the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends face coverings, such as schools, large venues and when riding public transportation.
Unvaccinated individuals will still be responsible for maintaining proper social distancing of six feet and wearing a mask as per federal CDC guidance.
"When we hit 70%, we will celebrate... we can say 'We did it,'" the governor added.
About 68.7% of New York adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to federal data. That means the state could reach 70% in just a matter of days.
Cuomo also said the state would modify the CDC's mask guidelines and allow schools to lose their mask mandate while outdoors.
Last week it sounded like the state would lift the mask mandate, but that's only partially true.
"We're going to modify the CDC guidance and allow schools to choose no mask outside for children," Cuomo explained Monday.
The governor said part of his goal is to streamline the rules for schools and camps.
"We have a disconnect right now between the school guidance and the camp guidance. You send your child to camp, they don't have to wear a mask. You send your child to school, they have to wear a mask, even outside. How do you square those two regulations? And I don't think you can. And that's important because if people don't think the rules are logical then they're not going to want to follow the rules. So we're going to align them," Cuomo said.
The requirements will stay in place inside school buildings. The governor thinks it doesn't make sense to change the indoor mask rules now.
"You would have to do a whole new set of guidance, you only have two weeks, you'd have to communicate with all the parents, you'd have to communicate with the teachers," Cuomo said.
Some school and local officials believe kids deserve a break and should be mask free.
“Today’s announcement from the State regarding masks in schools has added another layer of confusion for parents and school officials rather than clarifying the situation. It’s well past time for this decision to be put in the hands of parents and educators," said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.
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