New York state will adopt federal guidance on mask-wearing for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday. He added that it would be up to most businesses to enforce the rules, though some large venues will be moving to only serve those who’ve received shots or show proof of a negative test result. The new state policy will take effect on Wednesday, May 19th.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week that vaccine takers could stop wearing a mask, including at many indoor places like grocery stores, movie theaters, places of worship, restaurants, and bars. Exceptions include congregate living and medical settings. People are recommended to wait two weeks after their single shot of Johnson & Johnson or a second dose of Moderna and Pfizer before freeing the face.
Cuomo and his health team initially delayed their decision on the CDC guidance pending a review. New Jersey did the same, while Connecticut said it would move forward.
“If you are vaccinated, you are safe, no masks, no social distancing,” Cuomo said Monday during a press briefing in Manhattan. “We’re adopting the CDC, and we’re saying, ‘Let’s open.’”
However, across the Hudson River, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said on Monday he would not follow suit and that indoor mask mandates would remain in place even for people who are fully vaccinated.
“I just don't want to get burned. I don't want to go back,” Murphy said during a briefing Monday in Trenton. “We’ve got this thing on the run. If we can save one more life by leaving more time on the clock, it would have been worth it.”
New Yorkers will still be required to wear masks in nursing homes, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, schools, healthcare facilities and on public transportation, in line with the CDC rules.
People who are immunocompromised and those who haven’t received a full course of COVID-19 vaccines are still supposed to wear masks and stay socially distanced indoors. Unvaccinated people are allowed to go mask-free outdoors at small gatherings. While the vaccines protect the overwhelming majority of people, they are less effective for people with weakened immune systems.
Nearly 40% of New York City residents are fully vaccinated, health department data shows.
Some questions remain around how businesses will enforce the mask rules, which ostensibly require proof of vaccination or an honor system that could be easily bypassed by those unvaccinated. Robert Mujica, an advisor to the governor, said large venues would continue to require the state’s passport—the Excelsior Pass—or paper vaccine cards for entry.
But for other entities—like grocery stores, smaller gathering venues, or government property like transit systems and correction facilities—the decision would be left up to the business owners or local officials. A smattering of grocery stores and retail chains have already begun to announce plans to lift mask restriction in places where local leaders follow the policy.
"This is a radical adjustment of rules and guidelines...We're then giving vendors, local governments notice today,” Cuomo said. “It goes into effect Wednesday, so they have a day to make adjustments."
Radio City Music Hall, for instance, will reopen on June 19th at 100% capacity, with only vaccinated patrons who have the option of being unmasked.
Meanwhile in New Jersey, Gov. Murphy said most of the state’s nearly 9 million residents remain unvaccinated and that it’s unfair to ask local businesses to determine customers’ inoculation status.
“We’re putting an enormous burden on the retail employee, or the maître d or the guy at the hardware store to make them become the adjudicator to prove to me if you’re vaccinated or not, and that’s an incredibly unfair position for them to be in,” Murphy said.
New Jersey is logging about 1,000 new cases a day. While the total number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has dropped to 827 in the Garden State, that’s still double the tally seen last summer.
Murphy has lifted some outdoor requirements, though New Jerseyans in crowded settings—where they cannot adequately distance—must still wear a face covering. He also rescinded the state’s travel restrictions that called for residents returning from travel or those visiting the state to quarantine. Murphy said New Jersey still maintains a “high degree of cooperation” with its neighbors.
Cuomo bet that many New Yorkers would keep wearing a mask because the public health measure has been embedded “into their psyche.”
New York's mask change-up arrives as the state rapidly reopens and rates of COVID-19 cases drop. Before sunrise on Monday, the subway system resumed 24/7 service. A curfew in outdoor areas of bars and restaurants also lifted today, and the remaining indoor curfew will be scrapped at the end of the month. Gathering limits rise to 250 people indoors and 500 people outdoors, and residential indoor hangouts rise from 10 to 50.
Editor's note: This story was updated with details from New Jersey.
