BY ROBERT POZARYCKI AND
MARK HALLUM
Fully vaccinated New
Yorkers are now able to
do most anything in New
York state without wearing
a mask as of Wednesday,
May 19.
Governor Andrew Cuomo
announced Monday that the
state would begin following,
on May 19, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention’s
new guidance on maskwearing
amid the COVID-
19 pandemic. The change
coincides with the regional
reopening of the New York
City area that same day.
“We’re also going to follow
the CDC guidelines that
you will still need to wear a
mask on public transportation
the subways the buses
nursing homes, homeless
shelters correctional facilities,
schools and health
care facilities,” Cuomo said
Monday. “The CDC guidance
is all up on the website. …
Individual private venues
still have the ability to add
additional guidelines to the
state guidelines and the CDC
guidelines, but for our part,
we’re adopting the CDC and
we’re saying, let’s open. This
comes at a good time for New
York, because we had already
said we were going to
do our major reopening this
Wednesday.”
On May 13, the CDC recommended
that individuals
who are fully vaccinated
against COVID-19 can walk
outside without masks and
go maskless in most indoor
settings. The agency still advises
wearing masks in confined
areas such as planes,
trains, buses, and in large
public venues such as hospitals
and doctor’s offices.
“Part of that is common
sense the people who are
most eager to get to get a vaccine
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came in and got it. And
now we’re getting towards
a percentage of the population
that’s not that eager to
get the vaccine and then you
have a subgroup that is just
reluctant and hesitant to get
it,” Cuomo added. “We started
a new program, because
these are times to be creative
and do things you’ve
never done before.”
Under the revised mask
order for New York state,
Cuomo said that any unvaccinated
or immunocompromised
New Yorkers who
haven’t received the vaccine
will still be required to wear
masks and practice social
distancing.
Making the announcement
at Radio City Music
Hall, Cuomo said it was
just one of many venues,
including Pier 76 where the
Tribeca Film Festival will
be held this year, that will
only admit vaccinated people
New York residents who are fully vaccinated do not have to wear
masks as of Wednesday, May 19. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
to fill seats at 100 percent
capacity.
In order to access events,
New Yorkers can present
their vaccination card or
an Excelsior Pass, which
provides digital proof of inoculation
against COVID-19.
The Excelsior Pass can be
obtained from the state and
displayed on a smartphone
devise through an app.
This policy will reflect
the policies in neighboring
states, New Jersey and
Connecticut, and comes as
New York reaches a statewide
vaccination rate of 52
percent, according to the
Cuomo administration.
New York adopts new
CDC mask guidelines
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