What to Know
- Fully vaccinated people in Pennsylvania, except for Philadelphia, will no longer have to wear masks in most places following new national guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Department of Health Acting Secretary Alison Beam announced Thursday the CDC’s guidelines will go into effect immediately for Pennsylvania. Unvaccinated people will still be required to wear masks until 70% of Pennsylvanians 18 and older are fully vaccinated.
- Health officials in Philadelphia, which sets its own COVID guidelines in addition to the state, have not yet revealed whether the city will immediately follow the CDC’s new guidance on mask wearing.
Fully vaccinated people in Pennsylvania, except for Philadelphia, will no longer have to wear masks in most places following new national guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In a major step toward returning to pre-pandemic life, the CDC eased mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people on Thursday, allowing them to stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings.
The guidance still calls for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters, but it will help clear the way for reopening workplaces, schools, and other venues — even removing the need for social distancing for those who are fully vaccinated.
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Department of Health Acting Secretary Alison Beam later announced Thursday the CDC’s guidelines will go into effect immediately for Pennsylvania. Unvaccinated people will still be required to wear masks until 70% of Pennsylvanians 18 and older are fully vaccinated.
“Today’s guidance from the CDC affects only people who are fully vaccinated,” Beam wrote. “This is another incentive to get the vaccine that is now easily and conveniently available. Once 70 percent of Pennsylvanians over 18 are fully vaccinated, we can completely lift the masking order.”
Health officials in Philadelphia, which sets its own COVID guidelines in addition to the state, have not yet revealed whether the city will immediately follow the CDC’s new guidance on mask wearing.
New Jersey has not yet made a decision regarding the new CDC guidance.
"Governor Murphy and the New Jersey Department of Health are reviewing the new CDC guidance on masking requirements," Alex Altman, Gov. Phil Murphy's press secretary, wrote. "We continue to move forward in our efforts to vaccinate all willing and eligible individuals who live, work, or study in New Jersey.
Delaware also has not yet made a decision.
"Delaware's emergency order still requires masks indoors," Jonathan Starkey, Gov. John Carney's Deputy Chief of Staff-Communications, told NBC10. "We will communicate updates to Delaware's requirements once we have reviewed the implications of CDC's guidance."
