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FILE PIC: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio waits in line to vote at an early voting site in Brooklyn of New York, the United States, Oct. 27, 2020. /Xinhua
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio strongly encouraged vaccinated people to wear masks indoors but stopped short of reissuing a mask mandate on Monday, spurning guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We want to strongly recommend that people wear masks in indoor settings even if you're vaccinated," de Blasio said. "If you don't know the people around, if you're not sure if they're vaccinated or not, or if you know some are unvaccinated, it's absolutely crucial to wear a mask even if you are vaccinated."
Still, he did not require masks in all indoor settings, a step that Washington DC, Los Angeles County and some other large metro areas have taken. Already, New York City requires vaccinated people to wear masks on public transit, in hospitals and in schools.
Last week, the CDC issued new guidance that fully vaccinated people should wear masks indoors when in areas of "substantial" or "high" Covid-19 transmission, a metric based on case rates and positivity rates in a county. All five boroughs in NYC are in areas of "substantial" or "high" transmission.
De Blasio's decision not to reissue a mask mandate reflects the waning influence of the CDC at this point in the pandemic, when protective vaccines are widely available for everyone 12 and older.
(With input from agencies)
