NYC Reopening Begins: What Experts Say About Masks, Distancing

NEW YORK CITY — Life in New York City will officially — but not completely — return to a pre-pandemic normal Wednesday as coronavirus restrictions lift en masse.

The city and state will begin reopening as capacity limits, mask wearing requirements and social distancing guidelines all ease.

But the rules recommended by the CDC and set by Gov. Andrew Cuomo don't apply to every circumstance or even all New Yorkers.

As Mayor Bill de Blasio pointed out, fully vaccinated city dwellers quite simply can do more than those still waiting to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

"If you're vaccinated, you win freedom," he said Tuesday. "It's as simple as that."

Fully vaccinated New Yorkers — who now number 3.26 million, according to city data — can gather together without social distancing guidelines and go maskless in many indoor spaces under the CDC and state rules.

And Cuomo has given private venues and businesses leeway to go stricter on the rules. Retailers, for example, can continue to require customers to wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status.

Likewise, while sports arenas like Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center will have separate areas for fully and unvaccinated New Yorkers, Radio City Music Hall will only seat those who are vaccinated on the Tribeca Film Festival's final night.

"I encourage operators and venues to go higher than 50 percent vaccinated," Cuomo said Monday. "You can go to 100 percent vaccinated. That's in a private operator's control. And frankly, from the state's point of view, we want to encourage people to get vaccinated. Yes, there are health reasons, but we're opening up and we're opening up with more opportunities to vaccinated people. So it's another reason to get vaccinated."

New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated still have to wear asks indoors on public transportation and inside schools, nursing homes, homeless shelters, health care facilities and correctional facilities.

And fully vaccinated New Yorkers should consider still wearing masks in some indoors spaces, particularly if they're crowded or have unvaccinated people, said Dave Chokshi, the city's health commissioner.

Chokshi said he'll continue wearing a mask indoors in many circumstances.

"As a doctor, I have to keep in mind people who are the most vulnerable, people who remain unvaccinated in some cases, because they're not yet eligible for vaccination, such as children as well as people for whom immunity hasn't fully kicked in," he said. "And so what we're saying is until even more people get vaccinated across New York City, it does make sense for us to keep up some of the norms that we've established around masking in those shared indoor spaces."