New Delhi: US President Joe Biden declared victory over the Coronavirus pandemic by welcoming the new US CDS guidelines which has said that now fully vaccinated people can ditch their masks in most settings, even indoors or in large groups. Biden said that this move was to bring back normalcy in the country as masks became a necessity when the Covid 19 hit the world.
“Today is a great day for America," President Joe Biden said during a Rose Garden address heralding the new guidance, an event where he and his staff went without masks. Hours earlier in the Oval Office, where Biden was meeting with vaccinated Republican lawmakers, he led the group in removing their masks when the guidance was announced.
“If you are fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask," he said, summarizing the new guidance and encouraging more Americans to roll up their sleeves. “Get vaccinated — or wear a mask until you do."
According to the guidance, fully vaccinated people "can resume activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance."
"Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said at a press briefing. "If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic."
Over 35% of Americans are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. The agency considers people fully vaccinated two weeks after their final shot.
(With inputs from ANI)