A number of states and cities are declining to lift masking orders despite getting the federal government’s blessing to do so, indicating their concerns about reopening until the majority of the population has been vaccinated.
“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 [state health commissioner] Dr. Zucker and our partners and health experts in surrounding states,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.
FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE DON’T NEED TO WEAR MASKS INDOORS, CDC SAYS
Cuomo, a Democrat, is one of several government officials who has resisted lifting mask mandates despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s announcement Thursday that fully vaccinated people can ditch the masks and resume normal pre-pandemic activities.
In neighboring New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy did not indicate when he would lift his state’s mask mandate, but a spokeswoman for him said that, like Cuomo, Murphy will review the CDC guidance with state health officials before making an announcement.
The two states were the first pandemic epicenters in the United States last year. They first implemented statewide mask mandates more than a year ago and have maintained some social distancing measures since then. Cuomo and Murphy announced this week that they will lift capacity limits on businesses and restaurants by next week, the most sweeping reversal of coronavirus restrictions in those states so far.
California, which endured the worst of the pandemic in December and January, will also keep mask mandates in place. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said Thursday that the state would lift the outdoor mask requirement on June 15 as planned, contingent on cases and hospitalizations staying low. Indoor masking rules, meanwhile, will be relaxed but not lifted entirely. For instance, people in large crowds indoors will have to continue to wear masks after that date.
“Only in those massively large settings where people around the world, not just around the country, are convening and where people are mixing in real dense spaces,” Newsom said on Wednesday. “Otherwise, we’ll make guidance, recommendations, but no mandates and no restrictions in businesses large and small.”
Though most of the governors who have responded to the revised CDC guidance are Democrats, a select few Republican governors have also declined to lift their state mandates. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, announced this week that the state will lift all capacity restrictions on indoor and outdoor venues and businesses starting Saturday. People will still be required to mask up in businesses indoors until 70% of the state’s population receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That could be right around the corner, as Maryland has successfully given at least one dose of a vaccine to 65% of adults.
“Here in Maryland, our plan is to get everything back to normal by Memorial Day,” Hogan said. “We are making amazing progress toward that goal. But once again, the fastest way to get rid of our damn masks and to put this pandemic behind us once and for all is for every single eligible Marylander to get vaccinated as quickly as possible.”
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, similarly will not lift the state’s requirement yet. A spokeswoman for Baker said Thursday that the governor “welcomes the new CDC guidance and will be updating Massachusetts’ COVID restrictions in the near future. In the meantime, the current mask order remains in place.”
While many governors have indicated that they will lift remaining masking rules in the wake of new CDC guidelines, some cities have resisted, choosing instead to keep those rules in place while they consult state and local health experts. For example, Marion County, Indiana, where Indianapolis is located, will keep a citywide mask mandate despite Gov. Eric Holcomb’s order to lift the statewide mandate on April 6.
In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Waltz announced his intention to lift the statewide mask requirement more than a month ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter decided they will keep their masking requirements for now.
“I appreciate the continued diligence of our community as we work with our public health professionals to determine when mask measures can be safely lifted at the local level,” Carter said Thursday.
State and local officials have been reluctant to loosen restrictions over the past few months until a larger share of their populations has been immunized. To date, nearly 59% of U.S. adults have received at least one dose. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has now been authorized for use in children 12 to 15, in addition to adults 16 and older, and vaccination rates are expected to jump in the coming days. Indeed, vaccination rates on Thursday outperformed those recorded over the previous three days. After the CDC panel of vaccine experts signed off on giving children the Pfizer shots on Wednesday afternoon, vaccinations on Thursday ticked up to 1.93 million, up from 1.53 million on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.
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CDC officials advised people that while it is safe to go maskless, they must adhere to state and local restrictions. Similarly, many people will choose to carry on wearing masks in the absence of proof that people around them have all been vaccinated.
“When people want to [stop wearing a mask], they at least have the science behind them,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said Thursday. “But there are those people who don’t want to take that bit of a risk, and there’s nothing wrong with that, and they shouldn’t be criticized.”
