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- By Native News Online Staff
ATLANTA — With nearly 29 percent of Americans fully vaccinated and people anxious to get outdoors after a long winter, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) on Tuesday released new guidelines for facial mask wearing for being outdoors.
There was no change for indoor mask wearing. The CDC recommends everyone should wear a mask in public.
Whether someone has been fully vaccinated is a major determining factor in the guidelines. Fully vaccinated is defined as someone who has gone two weeks from the date they received their Covid-19 vaccine. In the case of those who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, it is two weeks after their second shot. Those who receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, a one-shot vaccine, must wait two full weeks before they are considered fully vaccinated.
(Photo: CDC)
"CDC cannot provide the specific risk level for every activity in every community, so it is important to consider your own personal situation and the risk to you, your family and your community before venturing out without a mask," CDC director Rochelle Walensky said in prepared remarks.
The CDC is still committed to preventing the spread of Covid-19. The guidelines are also predicated on the situation.
The new CDC guidelines for those fully vaccinated can go without wearing a mask in the following situations:
- Walking, running, hiking, or biking outdoors alone or with members of your household
- Attending a small outdoor gathering with fully vaccinated family and friends
- Attending a small outdoor gathering with a mixture of fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people
- Dining at an outdoor restaurant with friends from multiple households
The CDC still recommends masks stay on fully vaccinated people in most other social situations, including:
- Attending a crowded outdoor event such as a live performance, parade, or sporting event
- Visiting a barber or hair salon
- Visiting an uncrowded indoor shopping mall or museum
- Attending a small indoor gathering with a mixture of fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people
- Going to an indoor movie theater
- Attending a full capacity service at a house of worship
- Singing in an indoor chorus
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