On Thursday, President Joe Biden and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky both told Americans, if they have been vaccinated, they no longer need to wear face masks indoors and outdoors.
New Guidance released today by the CDC states If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic. Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
President Joe Biden who appeared without a mask today said it’s time for Americans to stop wearing them if they have been fully vaccinated.
In New Jersey, which has endured one of the most draconian COVID-19 lockdowns in America for the past year and one month, Governor Phil Murphy did not lift the state’s face mask mandate.
Governor Murphy and the New Jersey Department of Health are reviewing the new CDC guidance on masking requirements,” Murphy spokeswoman Alexandra Altman said after the announcement by Biden and the CDC. “We continue to move forward in our efforts to vaccinate all willing and eligible individuals who live, work, or study in New Jersey.”
That message contradicts the message of the CDC director.
“Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities — large or small — without wearing a mask or physically distancing,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s director. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.”
The Murphy administration did not say how long the state will continue to enforce the Murphy mask mandate.