Monday night, the Centers for Disease Control announced that 70 percent of New Yorkers were vaccinated against COVID-19, and Tuesday morning, Governor Cuomo lifted a series of COVID-19 restrictions imposed on the state during the depths of the pandemic. That doesn’t mean children can take off their masks in the classroom…read on!
Mask requirements were lifted at retail stores, restaurants and bars, offices, gyms and fitness centers, amusement parks, hair salons and barber shops and a variety of other businesses. Unvaccinated people should still wear a mask. You also have to wear a mask on public transit like RTS buses, as well as in jails, homeless shelters, nursing homes and health care facilities.
Social distancing guidelines and attendance limits on most public facilities are now optional.
Unvaccinated individuals continue to be responsible for wearing masks, in accordance with federal CDC guidance. Consistent with the State’s implementation of the recent CDC guidance, masks are still required for unvaccinated individuals. Further, the State’s health guidelines continue to be in effect for large-scale indoor event venues, pre-K to grade 12 schools, public transit, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, nursing homes, and health care settings, masks are still needed per CDC guidelines.
Governor Cuomo said the state has done an extraordinary thing in vaccinating 70 percent of its people since February. More than 20 million doses of the vaccine have been given out.