Pretoria - The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that fully vaccinated Americans do not need to wear masks when they are outdoors, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
The British broadcaster said according to the new guidelines, people who have received all required jabs don’t need masks when alone or in small groups of vaccinated people.
The CDC said more than half of all adults have received one dose, and more than a third have been fully vaccinated.
The guidelines posted on the CDC’s website allow Americans to walk, cycle, socialise or dine outdoors without having to wear masks.
However, the agency still recommends that fully vaccinated people wear a mask in outdoor spaces where the risk of Covid-19 is less clear. These include sporting events, concerts, parades and other crowded places.
“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 travelling into, within, or out of the United States, and in US transportation hubs such as airports and stations,” the agency said on its website.
In its report, the CNBC quoted US President Joe Biden as saying the relaxed restrictions were an incentive to get vaccinated. Biden further emphasised that Americans should still wear masks in more crowded outdoor settings.
“Because of the extraordinary progress we’ve made in the fight against Covid-19, the CDC made a big announcement… If you are fully vaccinated — and if you are outdoors and not in a large crowd — you no longer need to wear a mask,” Biden wrote on Twitter.
The updated guidelines mark a significant change in a country where more than 587,000 have died of Covid-19, ranking number one in the world. The country is also leading with the number of infections totalling more than 32 million.
African News Agency (ANA)