COURIER LIFE, MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2021 3
BY BEN VERDE
With the Centers for Disease Control
updating its mask guidance for
vaccinated people, and New York State
following suit, many Brooklynites are
unsure how to react.
The health panel earlier this month
declared that vaccinated people no
longer need to wear masks in most situations,
and on May 19, New York relaxed
its state-wide mask mandate in
tandem with the updated guidelines.
Rather than casting their face coverings
into the wind, many Brooklynites
are keeping their masks close,
especially as most businesses and
public transit still require them.
Marcus and Alicia Brandon, a
married couple who were walking
through Prospect Lefferts Gardens on
May 20, say they have no plans to stop
mask-wearing indoors, and can foresee
wearing them
for years after the
pandemic.
“I will probably
always wear it on
the subway, especially
for fl u season,”
said Alicia.
Marcus added
that he hopes
masks become ingrained
into American
culture, similarly
to the way
they are in Asian
cultures.
“I would like for
America to adopt
masks as part of the culture,” he said.
For now, most of the borough’s
businesses also seem to be keeping
with their mask requirements, such
as Chokmah Hair
Lab in Bedford-
Stuyvesant.
“As a business
owner, I just don’t trust it,” said
owner Judith Essien. “I’m going to
keep my mask on indoors until three
or four months from now and see
what happens.”
According to the most recent data,
41.7 percent of adults in New York are
fully vaccinated, while just over half
of all adults in the United States are.
Approximately 44 percent of Brooklynites
are inoculated against the virus.
TO MASK OR
NOT TO MASK?
How do Brooklynites feel about
the latest CDC guidelines?
(Top) Alicia, left, and Marcus Brandon smile with their children on
Vanderbilt Avenue on May 19, the day New York relaxed its mask
mandates. (Left) Judith Essien, co-owner of Chokmah Inc. Hair Lab,
gives Matt Ferrran a fresh cut on May 20. Photos by Caroline Ourso