The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a major modification to a longstanding mitigation strategy for COVID-19.
The upshot: if you’re fully vaccinated — meaning two weeks after your final COVID-19 dose — you can resume indoor and outdoor activities without masks or social distancing in many circumstances. There are several notable exceptions, including business policies; travel on buses and planes; medical facilities; prisons; and homeless shelters.
Lyon County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Director Jennifer Millbern says this is a step that has been anticipated for a while.
This follows an update in late April where the CDC suggested masks indoors or in crowds even if people were fully immunized. On Thursday, the CDC said recent trends show the vaccines do well against variants and make it unlikely — although not guaranteed — for vaccinated people to get the virus.
Almost immediately, Kansas followed suit, saying residents are not required to wear masks except for business, travel or healthcare settings. Emporia and Lyon County have already shifted away from mask mandates and social distancing requirements, but residents were still being advised to wear masks when indoors or in large groups where social distancing couldn’t be maintained.
