A3
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021
CDC says vaccinated can go without mask outdoors
By MIKE STOBBE
Associated Press
NEW YORK — The Cen-
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention eased its guide-
lines Tuesday on the wearing
of masks outdoors, saying
fully vaccinated Americans
don’t need to cover their
faces anymore unless they are
in a big crowd of strangers.
And those who are unvac-
cinated can go outside with-
out masks in some situations,
too.
The new guidance rep-
resents another carefully cal-
ibrated step on the road back
to normal from the coronavi-
rus outbreak that has killed
over 570,000 people in U.S.
For most of the past year,
the CDC had been advising
Americans to wear masks
outdoors if they are within 6
feet of one another.
“Today, I hope, is a day
when we can take another
step back to the normalcy
of before,” CDC Direc-
tor Dr. Rochelle Walensky
said. “Over the past year, we
have spent a lot of time tell-
ing Americans what you
can’t do. Today, I am going
to tell you some of the things
you can do, if you are fully
vaccinated.”
The change comes as
more than half of U.S. adults
— or about 140 million peo-
ple — have received at least
one dose of vaccine, and
more than a third have been
fully vaccinated.
Walensky said the deci-
sion was driven by rising vac-
cination numbers; declines
in COVID-19 cases, hospi-
talizations and deaths; and
research showing that less
than 10% of documented
instances of transmission of
the virus happened outdoors.
Dr. Mike Saag, an infec-
tious disease expert at the
University of Alabama at
Birmingham, welcomed the
change.
“It’s the return of free-
dom,” Saag said. “It’s the
return of us being able to
do normal activities again.
We’re not there yet, but we’re
John Locher/AP Photo
Masked and unmasked pedestrians walk along the Las Vegas Strip on Tuesday.
on the exit ramp. And that’s a
beautiful thing.”
Some experts portrayed
the relaxed guidance as a
reward and a motivator for
more people to get vacci-
nated — a message President
Joe Biden sounded, too.
“The bottom line is clear:
If you’re vaccinated, you
can do more things, more
safely, both outdoors as well
as indoors,” Biden said. “So
for those who haven’t gotten
their vaccinations yet, espe-
cially if you’re younger or
thinking you don’t need it,
this is another great reason to
go get vaccinated now.”
The CDC, which has
been cautious in its guidance
during the crisis, essentially
endorsed what many Ameri-
cans have already been doing
over the past several weeks.
The CDC says that
whether they are fully vac-
cinated or not, people do
not have to wear masks out-
doors when they walk, bike
or run alone or with mem-
‘THE BOTTOM LINE IS CLEAR: IF
YOU’RE VACCINATED, YOU CAN
DO MORE THINGS, MORE SAFELY,
BOTH OUTDOORS AS WELL
AS INDOORS. SO FOR THOSE
WHO HAVEN’T GOTTEN THEIR
VACCINATIONS YET, ESPECIALLY
IF YOU’RE YOUNGER OR
THINKING YOU DON’T NEED IT,
THIS IS ANOTHER GREAT REASON
TO GO GET VACCINATED NOW.’
President Joe Biden
bers of their household. They
can also go maskless in small
outdoor gatherings with fully
vaccinated people.
But unvaccinated peo-
ple — defi ned as those who
have yet to receive both doses
of the Pfi zer or Moderna vac-
cine or the one-shot Johnson
& Johnson formula — should
wear masks at small out-
door gatherings that include
other unvaccinated people,
the CDC says. They also
should keep their faces cov-
ered when dining at outdoor
restaurants with friends from
multiple households.
And everyone, fully vac-
cinated or not, should keep
wearing masks at crowded
outdoor events such as con-
certs or sporting events, the
CDC says.
The agency continues to
recommend masks at indoor
public places, such as hair
salons, restaurants, shopping
centers, gyms, museums and
movie theaters, saying that is
still the safer course even for
vaccinated people.
“Right now it’s very hard
to tease apart who is vacci-
nated,” Walensky explained.
She said the CDC guid-
ance should be a model
for states in setting their
mask-wearing requirements.
The advice to the unvac-
cinated applies to adults
and children alike, accord-
ing to the CDC. None of the
COVID-19 vaccines in use
in the U.S. are authorized for
children under 16.
“The biggest thing that
it helps us is our mental
health,” said Tim Stephens,
a 52-year-old software sales-
man in Birmingham, Ala-
bama, who suff ered a bout of
COVID-19 and has since got-
ten vaccinated.
“To be able to feel like
we’re turning the corner and
can confi dently go out and
experience life and do a lot of
the things that we did before
COVID became an acronym
in our world. It’s one more
step in the process of moving
beyond this.”
In Oxford, Nebraska, pop-
ulation 800, hardly anyone
wears a mask, and the school
district dropped its mask
mandate last month. Superin-
tendent Bryce Jorgensen said
maybe 10 of the 370 students
are still covering their faces.
“What goes on in other
states is what goes on in other
states,” Jorgensen said. “You
just can’t compare Chicago to
Oxford, Nebraska. Things are
just diff erent.”
Dr. Babak Javid, a physi-
cian-scientist at the Univer-
sity of California, San Fran-
cisco, said the new CDC
guidance is sensible.
“In the vast majority of
outdoor scenarios, transmis-
sion risk is low,” Javid said.
Javid has favored outdoor
mask-wearing requirements
because he believes they
increase indoor mask-wear-
ing, but he said Ameri-
cans can understand the rel-
ative risks and make good
decisions.
He added: “I’m look-
ing forward to mask-free
existence.”
“The timing is right
because we now have a fair
amount of data about the sce-
narios where transmission
occurs,” said Mercedes Car-
nethon, a professor and vice
chair of preventive medicine
at Northwestern University’s
Feinberg School of Medicine
in Chicago.
What’s more, she said,
“the additional freedoms may
serve as a motivator” for peo-
ple to get vaccinated.
Associated Press writer
Carla K. Johnson in Wash-
ington state contributed to
this report.
Spring is Here...
Are you ready?
BX23S Loader Backhoe Package
†
• 21.6 Gross HP, 3-Cylinder Kubota Diesel Engine
• Fully Integrated Tractor/Loader/Backhoe
• New Swift-Tach Loader System
Z200 Series
MX6000
• 21, 21.5, 22 or 25 Gross HP, † Gasoline,
Air-Cooled V-Twin Engine
• 42,” 48” or 54” Welded Mower Deck
• 63.4 Gross HP, † 4-Cylinder Kubota Diesel Engine
• 4WD • Hydrostatic Transmission
• Performance-Matched Implements Available
$0 DOWN, 0% A.P.R.
FINANCING FOR
UP TO 84 MONTHS
L2501HST Tractor with Loader
• 24.8 Gross HP, † 3-Cylinder Kubota Diesel Engine
• 4WD • Hydrostatic Transmission (HST)
• Performance-Matched Implements Available
ON SELECT
NEW KUBOTAS!*
Z421KWT-3-60 Zero-Turn
• 24 Gross HP, † 2-Cylinder Gasoline Engine
• Steel Welded 60” Mower Deck
• Adjustable Dampening
watkinstractor.com
501 S. PACIFIC AVE • KELSO, WA • (360) 423-7220 • 800-858-7220
100 PORT AVE • SAINT HELENS, OR • (503) 397-1012 • 800-606-1012
*© Kubota Tractor Corporation, 2021. Offer valid for residents within states of CA, AZ, NV, UT, WY, ID, OR, MT and WA only. $0 Down, 0% A.P.R. financing for up to 84 months on purchases of select new Kubota
B, BX, L, L60 and LX Series equipment from participating dealers’ in-stock inventory is available to qualified purchasers through Kubota Credit Corporation, U.S.A.; subject to credit approval. Some exceptions
apply. Example: 84 monthly payments of $11.90 per $1,000 financed. Offer expires 6/30/21. Terms subject to change. This material is for descriptive purposes only. Kubota disclaims all representations and
warranties, express or implied, or any liability from the use of this material. For complete warranty, disclaimer, safety, incentive offer and product information, consult your local Dealer or go to KubotaUSA.
com. † For complete warranty, safety and product information, consult your local Kubota dealer and the product operator’s manual. Power (HP/KW) and other specifications are based on various standards or
recommended practices. K1231-24-145714-1