What to know
- Pennsylvania is easing its mask mandate to allow people who are completely vaccinated against coronavirus to gather with other vaccinated people without masks or social distances.
- State health officials said Monday that the new rules also apply to vaccinated people who gather with people from a single household who have not been vaccinated but are considered at low risk for severe coronavirus disease – such as vaccinated grandparents visiting healthy grandchildren.
- Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam has revised the state’s existing disguise order to align with recent guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pennsylvania has eased its mask mandate to allow people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to gather with other vaccinated people without masks or social distance, state health officials said Monday.
The new rules also apply to vaccinated people who reunite with people in a single household who have not been vaccinated but are considered at low risk for severe coronavirus disease – such as vaccinated grandparents who visit healthy grandchildren.
Also, vaccinated people should no longer be quarantined after exposure to someone with COVID-19, as long as they are asymptomatic, state health officials said.
Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam has revised the state’s existing disguise order to align with recent guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Research has shown that fully vaccinated people are less likely to have asymptomatic infections and potentially less likely to spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to others, “Beam said.” However, much remains to be learned about how long the protection lasts and how long the vaccines protect against new variants of the virus, so some preventative measures will continue to be in place for all people, regardless of their vaccination status. ”
The state stated that vaccinated people should continue to wear masks and social distance in public even when visiting people from several households or those with a higher risk of serious illness due to COVID-19.
All other aspects of the current state masking order remain in force.
Pennsylvania sharpened its mask mandate in November in response to an increase in coronavirus cases. The state demanded masks indoors, where people from different households gathered, including in private homes, although officials relied on voluntary compliance rather than execution.
Pennsylvania saw sharp declines in cases, hospitalizations and deaths after a winter peak, but cases have risen again – from about 2,500 a day two weeks ago to 2,900 a day since this weekend. The decline in hospitalizations has stopped, state officials said.
The state is approaching one million confirmed cases of coronavirus and nearly 24,800 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19.