In a major step toward returning to pre-pandemic life, US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday eased indoor mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people. This easing will allow people to stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and inside in most situations.
However, the new guidance still calls for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals but will help clear the way for reopening workplaces, schools, and other venues.
US President Joe Biden in a nationally televised address at the White House called it "a great day" in the fight against Covid-19 and that they could now "smile again." Biden declared a major victory in the more than year-long battle which has seen more than half a million Americans die.