What to Know
- Pennsylvania lifted its mask mandate on Monday. The move comes more than 14 months after the Wolf administration began requiring people to wear face coverings whenever they left home to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
- The Department of Health will no longer require unvaccinated people to wear masks in public, though it says businesses, health care facilities, prisons and other places may still require them.
- About 75% of Pennsylvania residents aged 18 and over have already received at least one vaccine dose.
Pennsylvania's face mask mandate in place for more than a year amid the COVID-19 pandemic is now officially over.
The Pennsylvania Health Department lifted the masking mandate just after midnight Monday. The laxed masking rules means unvaccinated people no longer are required to wear masks in most public situations.
Keep a mask handy, however, as you might need it. And, those not fully vaccinated are urged to keep wearing a mask indoors in public.
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"We continue to urge Pennsylvanians to follow CDC guidance for wearing a mask where required by law, rule, and regulations, including healthcare, local business and workplace guidance," the state said on its website.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requires masks on planes, trains, buses and other forms of public transport.
The spread of vaccinations has led to a drop in coronavirus cases and deaths, allowing for the elimination of many public coronavirus mitigation efforts.
According to federal vaccine data compiled by the New York Times, around 75% of Pennsylvania residents aged 18 and over have already received at least one vaccine dose.
Nearly 60% of the adult population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Just around half of the total population is fully vaccinated.
People are considered fully vaccinated once they are two weeks beyond their last required dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
As more Pennsylvanians have gotten vaccinated, new infections have plummeted. The state has averaged about 177 new confirmed cases per day over the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Deaths attributed to COVID-19 have also dropped off, averaging about 12 per day over the past seven days.
