NEW YORK – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo today joined his masked partner in crime, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, saying, “not so fast” after both President Joe Biden and CDC Director Rachel Walinsky have both declared vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear face masks.
“In New York, we have always relied on the facts and the science to guide us throughout the worst of this pandemic and in our successful reopening,” Cuomo said. “We have received the newly revised guidance from the CDC regarding mask wearing and social distancing for those with vaccinations and are reviewing them in consultation with Dr. Zucker and our partners and health experts in surrounding states.”
Across the Hudson River, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy echoed the sentiments of Governor Cuomo. Throughout the pandemic, the two governors have been in lockstep with each other on public health policies. Both governors also share the highest rates of COVID-19 deaths per capita in the United States despite having had the strictest lockdown rules.
“Governor Murphy and the New Jersey Department of Health are reviewing the new CDC guidance on masking requirements,” Murphy spokeswoman Alexandra Altman said after the announcement by Biden and the CDC. “We continue to move forward in our efforts to vaccinate all willing and eligible individuals who live, work, or study in New Jersey.”
CDC Chief Rochelle Walensky today told Americans they can resume life as normal and without face masks after they have been vaccinated.
New Guidance released today by the CDC states If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic. Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
President Joe Biden who appeared without a mask today said it’s time for Americans to stop wearing them if they have been fully vaccinated.
“This was made possible by the extraordinary success we’ve had in vaccinating so many Americans, so quickly,” Biden said.