Those who are not vaccinated are still encouraged to wear them.
Last month, state officials said Pennsylvania would lift its mask mandate on June 28 or when 70% of the state’s adult population was fully vaccinated.
June 28 came first.
The CDC still requires people to wear masks on public transportation, on planes, in airports and at train stations.
Businesses can still dictate whether or not masks are required in their stores and establishments, creating some confusion for customers.
“They never know when they’re coming in, if they should wear a mask, like they look around and half the employees aren’t wearing masks,” said employee Sofia Monteaner of Devon. “If they ask, we just say, ‘whatever you’re comfortable with.'”
Nearly 60 percent of adults in the commonwealth are fully vaccinated, and about 56.5 percent in Philadelphia.
In Pennsylvania, 7.6 million residents are partially vaccinated, and about 75 percent of Pennsylvanians 18 and over.
Over the weekend, Action News spoke with residents who had mixed feelings.
“I think it’s beautiful to be able to see to take them off at this present time,” said Sherman Wilcher of Mount Airy. “Especially if you’re fully vaccinated, it’s your judgment, it’s your call. If you’re fully vaccinated, take them off and breathe.”
“I think the more people take their masks off, the more germs will spread and the virus will start back up,” said Lydia Parsons of Cheltenham. “We’ve seen it fluctuate over the summer, it goes down, it goes up.”
Pennsylvania lifted all other of its COVID-19 restrictions on Memorial Day. Earlier in May, the Pennsylvania health department followed the CDC’s guidance to ease mask-wearing orders for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to stop wearing masks outdoors and in most indoor settings.
The universal masking order in Pennsylvania was originally issued on April 15, 2020.
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