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Retailers, Restaurants and Theme Parks Lift Mask Rules: Live Updates
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Source: Factset
Starbucks has announced that masks will be optional for vaccinated customers as of Monday, unless local regulations require them.Credit.Eze Amos for The New York Times
Target on Monday joined a growing list of retailers, restaurants and theme parks that will allow fully vaccinated customers to go mask free, following new coronavirus safety guidance from the federal government last week that said vaccinated people rarely transmit the virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday took many businesses by surprise when it said that people who are vaccinated could go maskless in most places, including indoors. For businesses, the announcement was complicated by the fact that C.D.C. guidance does not override state and local rules. But several major companies have already moved to relax mask requirements. Businesses for the most part have not said they would require custo
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For executives planning to reopen offices in the coming months, Thursday was a doozy of a news day: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unexpectedly issued new mask rules, and Delta became the first major U.S. company to require the coronavirus vaccine for new employees.
The Covid-19 precautions companies must take to keep their workers safe can seem like a moving target.
Here’s what we do know: Generally, employers are allowed to require employees to be vaccinated. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidance in December stating that vaccine mandates are legal. But this is complicated by proposed legislation in a number of states that would restrict companies’ abilities to set such requirements, and it may be further complicated by the fact that all the vaccines only have conditional approval for emergency use. Pfizer and BioNTech recently applied for full approval for their vaccine, but the process is likely to take months.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said that vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks for outdoor activities. This includes exercising, dining and gathering in small groups outdoors. However, inoculated individuals still need to wear a face covering when indoors or in crowded outdoor situations, such as concerts and sporting events. The director of the CDC, Rochelle Walensky, said that there is increasing evidence that most Covid-19 transmission occurs indoors. Another reason behind vaccinated people still wearing masks in places such as stadiums, is “because distinguishing between vaccinated and unvaccinated people among so many people isn’t possible.” – Jarryd Neves