Gov. Cuomo announces New York to adopt CDC mask guidelines for fully vaccinated

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced New York state will end mask mandates and adopt CDC guidelines for the fully vaccinated effective Wednesday.

Cuomo says following the CDC guidance, immunocompromised people and unvaccinated people should wear a mask and social distance.

“If you are vaccinated, you are safe,” he said. “No masks, no social distancing. We are also going to follow the CDCs guidelines that you will still have to wear a mask on public transportation in the subways, buses, nursing homes, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, schools, health care facilities.”

The governor said the state has to reopen smart.

“We have to reopen with a cautious eye, but we have to get back to life,” he said. “We have to get back to life and living. We have to do it the way New Yorkers do it, quickly and robustly.”

The news comes after six county executives called on the state to adopt the CDC’s latest mask guidance.

The bipartisan group of county leaders asked the governor to follow through on what he’s said all along about following the science.

A joint statement was released Sunday from county executives in Duchess, Suffolk, Rockland, Putnam, Orange and Ulster Counties.

Confusion set in after Thursday’s announcement from the director of the CDC that says if those fully vaccinated can go without a mask– even in crowds and indoors.

However, mask requirements can still remain in place for businesses, schools and even local governments.

In New Jersey, Governor Murphy has asked for a few more weeks to sort through what the new recommendations means for the state.

A bipartisan group of county leaders are asking for clarification from the Governor after the CDC announcement.

“There is no reason to delay, except to control and to maintain a degree of power,” Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said. “There’s no reason to delay, implementing what we know are common sense guidance from the CDC.”

Molinaro believes now is more important than ever to allow the CDC guidance to go into effect.

“We believe in science,” he said. “We accept what we know to be common sense, and we want to we want to be in a position where we make these decisions, ourselves, but here we are waiting on the governor, who I’m sure will use some dramatic means to make the decision.”

A grocery store workers union in New Jersey applauded Murphy’s decision to leave the mask mandate in place for the time being in the Garden State.

They say with the mandate in place, it keeps their workers in place and also keeps their workers from being the vaccination police.

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