CDC Says Fully Vaccinated People Can Stop Wearing Masks Most Everywhere, Beshear Says KY Will Follow Suit

Screenshot from cdc.gov.

Darren Doyle, story:
Earlier today, the CDC updated guidelines regarding mask-wearing both indoors and outdoors for those that have been fully vaccinated. The CDC said today that 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," a portion of the new guidance said.

Soon after, KY Governor Andy Beshear released a video where he said Kentucky would follow suit, with changes in state mask mandates coming on Friday, May 14th.

"Folks, this outstanding," he said. "It means that we are so close to normalcy. We're going to be changing Kentucky's mask mandate to be the same as those CDC guidelines."

He also encouraged Kentuckians not yet vaccinated to do so.

"When you get vaccinated, the CDC says it is safe to take that mask off, so go on out, get that shot, and let's defeat that pandemic once-and-for-all. Great news today."

Additional guidelines and exceptions that the CDC noted for fully vaccinated individuals are as follow:

• You will still need to follow guidance at your workplace and local businesses.
• If you travel, you should still take steps to protect yourself and others. You will still be required to wear a mask on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States, and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations. Fully vaccinated international travelers arriving in the United States are still required to get tested within 3 days of their flight (or show documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 3 months) and should still get tested 3-5 days after their trip.
• You should still watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if you’ve been around someone who is sick. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested and stay home and away from others.
• People who have a condition or are taking medications that weaken the immune system, should talk to their healthcare provider to discuss their activities. They may need to keep taking all precautions to prevent COVID-19.

Beshear plans to speak more about this development at his press conference on Friday.