Maskless In Connecticut: 5 Quick Questions On The New Guidance

CONNECTICUT — In a surprise move, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Thursday it was rescinding almost all its recommended coronavirus mitigation rules for how vaccinated people should behave indoors. The announcement sent governors and state legislatures riffling through their playbooks for a way to accelerate their pandemic exit strategies.

What just happened?

The CDC, which has been providing guidance to states and the federal government since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, has suddenly dropped its recommendation that vaccinated people wear a mask and practice social distancing while indoors. The guidance is still in effect for those not vaccinated against COVID-19, and does not apply to health care settings, or crowded spaces such as prisons, buses, planes and homeless shelters.

So we're done, then? We can kick up our heels and burn our masks if we've been vaccinated?

No. The CDC doesn't make the laws, it only offers advice to the people that do. Here in Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont said the state's mask mandate will remain in effect until May 19, coinciding with the relaxation of the other remaining COVID-19 mitigation strategies for businesses. The Connecticut Department of Public Health will be issuing further, and formal, guidelines shortly, according to the governor, so hold off on the mask bonfires.

Can children who have been vaccinated attend school without wearing masks?

No, not in Connecticut. Regardless of their vaccination status, all children in schools must continue to wear their masks through the end of the school year, the governor said, as an insufficient number of them have yet to be vaccinated.

As for the next school year? "I'd like to think that by the fall we'll have the vast majority of our kids vaccinated, and it won't be necessary," Lamont said during a news conference Thursday.

I've been vaccinated, but my local grocery store still won't let me enter without a mask. What can I do?

Not a whole lot, other than take your business elsewhere. A store or restaurant can opt not to serve someone without a mask in the same way it can refuse service to someone who is not wearing a shirt or shoes. It's clear that many businesses will continue to require their patrons mask up and even practice social distancing, as the "new normal" has elevated these rituals from annoyances to "best practices" for many Americans. Other businesses will drop mask requirements like they're on fire, and trumpet that fact like a two-for-one drink special. Which businesses ultimately will be more popular, those that advertise themselves as "safe and clean" or those that are proudly "free at last"? That's a question we can't answer.

How can a business tell if a maskless patron has really been vaccinated?

This has been the elephant in the room ever since President Joe Biden and Gov. Ned Lamont pledged they would not institute any kind of vaccine passport program. All a business can do is ask you to voluntarily present some form of vaccine verification. Whether you comply, walk out, or present one of those ridiculously-easy-to-come-by bogus vaccination cards will be up to you.

"At this point, people are going to self-attest," Lamont said. "I hope we can count on them to do the right thing."

It's worth pointing out that HIPAA laws prevent insurers and health care providers from giving out someone's health information without their consent, but nothing can stop your bartender from asking you to voluntarily show some vaccine verification before he mixes your Manhattan.

If all this sounds like an incredibly onerous scenario for businesses already reeling from a year of virus-drained revenues, it is. Expect even the "safe and clean" establishment to look the other way and just take your money.