Restaurants plead for patience on mask rules
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Autumn Waterhouse, standing, takes a lunch order, from left, from Lisa Mooney, Julia Watjen and Tom Connolly at Dawn’s Victory Cafe in Albany on June 4 last year, the first day outdoor dining was again allowed in New York. Indoor dining resumed two weeks later. (Photo by Steve Barnes/Times Union.)Steve Barnes/Times Union
ALBANY Restaurateurs collectively cringed on Thursday when the federal Centers for Disease Control issued an abrupt and unexpected change in its pandemic-related recommendations, saying that people who are fully vaccinated no longer need to wear masks, indoor or out. Masks are still required for all in medical settings and transportation hubs, the CDC said, adding that “federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance” may continue to mandate masks.