States, business sort out what new CDC mask guidance means
Several states immediately and enthusiastically embraced new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention t hat say fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks indoors or out in most situations.
But other states and cities and some major businesses took a wait-and-see attitude Friday amid questions of whether the new stand is safe or workable, given that there is no easy way to know who has been vaccinated and who hasn't. The guidelines essentially leave it up to people to do the right thing.
Labor groups and others warned that employees at stores, restaurants and other businesses could be left exposed to the coronavirus from customers and could be forced into the unwanted role of “vaccination police.”
Several major chains, including Home Depot and grocer Kroger Co., announced that they would keep mask mandates in place for now.
But Sean Weinberg took down mask signs Friday at Restaurant Alba in Malvern, Pennsylvania, which he runs with his wife. He also emailed his employees to let them know they can forgo masks at work if they are fully vaccinated.
“It’s just a headache we don’t want to have to fight any more,” he said of the mask requirement.
On an earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Chapek described the new guidelines as “very big news" and hinted that there could be a change to the mask requirement at Disney parks in the near future.
“Particularly, if anybody’s been in Florida in the middle of summer with a mask on. That could be quite daunting,” Chapek said. “So we think that’s going to make for an even more pleasant experience.”
The announcement sent airline stocks soaring, though the CDC guidance still calls for masks in crowded indoor settings such as planes, buses, trains, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters, and says people...
