Western Pa. businesses grapple with mask policies after CDC, state updates guidance

Pennsylvania’s covid-19 mask mandate will update to fall in line with new federal guidance released Thursday, meaning those who are fully vaccinated can go unmasked in most of their daily activities.

Those who are fully inoculated against covid-19 can go maskless in most situations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Thursday, drastically updating public health guidelines that have altered American life in the last 14 months. The new guidelines still recommend masks in crowded indoor settings like public transportation, hospitals, prisons and shelters but could ease restrictions for reopening workplaces and schools.

In Western Pennsylvania, health experts generally favor the new federal guidelines, but it’s still unclear how the change will play out in public places. Because businesses will still be able to set their own guidelines, many establishments are still working out how they will approach the sudden switch.

“It’s being discussed as I type this,” Dick Roberts, a spokesman for grocery chain Giant Eagle, wrote in an email Thursday afternoon to the Tribune-Review.

Later, Roberts said Giant Eagle would continue its current mask policy.

“As we actively evaluate the shifts in state and CDC guidance, we will continue to require anyone working or shopping in our stores to wear a mask or face covering,” he said.

Arlan Hess, owner of City Books on Pittsburgh’s North Side, said she will keep the store’s mask policy in place for the time being.

City Books only reopened its physical location April 24. Hess said she keeps the double doors open as much as possible, and she’s installed a medical grade air filter. Still, mask-wearing is largely considered the best defense against the virus.

“There is no way of knowing who has been vaccinated and who has not,” Hess said. “You can’t tell by looking at somebody, so for the time being, I am continuing with masks. I will revisit that decision every few weeks, until I feel I don’t have to.”

At Planet Fitness in Harrison, the policy is that people may remove masks while working out, but they need to wear it while not exercising or when moving around the building. There is currently no change to that policy, and any changes would come from franchise ownership, manager Ross Gaggini said.

Though most gym-goers have grown accustomed to masks, Gaggini said there had been some complaints and disputes over masks, with people refusing to wear them or complaining about others who came into the gym mask-free. The lifting of mask mandates will prompt people to return to the gym, Gaggini said.

“I think it’ll help the gym business a lot,” he said. “It’ll bring a lot of people back to the gym who haven’t been comfortable at the gym.”

At Chelsea Grille in Oakmont, Danielle Monaco, the floor manager, said she wasn’t sure what it would look like if they allowed vaccinated guests to ditch the masks.

“It’s a tough call, because how do you know who’s vaccinated and who’s not?” she said, adding that she’d be concerned about putting vulnerable, unvaccinated people at risk by loosening mask restrictions.

Not everyone on her staff is vaccinated, she continued, which raises questions about whether the restaurant would be ready to let their employees work without masks.

People have generally seemed more comfortable returning to restaurants once vaccinated, she said, and many seem to think it’s time to relax mask mandates. But she said she fears other customers might feel uncomfortable with people walking around the restaurant sans mask.

“It’s one extreme or the other,” she said. “There are people who have been ready to take the masks off since the first time they put them on, and there are others who feel they are necessary and want to keep wearing them. I would say the majority are ready to take them off.”

There is still concern — even among health professionals — about the challenge of differentiating between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated when it comes to mask requirements. Dr. Carol Fox, chief medical officer at Excela Health, said the new guidelines make it clear the vaccine is doing its job, and the data supports allowing vaccinated people to go maskless. But she still has reservations.

“I’m a little concerned, however, that there will be individuals who are not vaccinated who will take this opportunity to be maskless in scenarios where people are closer together,” she said. “I hope they don’t.”

Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health Alison Beam on Thursday stressed that the latest guidance applies only to those who are fully vaccinated – that is, two weeks past their final dose of the vaccine. The guidance still calls for unvaccinated individuals to wear a mask until 70% of the state’s adult population is vaccinated.

“This is another incentive to get the vaccine that is now easily and conveniently available,” she said. “Once 70% of Pennsylvanians over 18 are fully vaccinated, we can completely lift the masking order.”

Gov. Tom Wolf set the 70% bar last week in conjunction with his announcement that all other mitigation measures would expire May 31. As of Thursday, about 46% of adults in the state were fully vaccinated and 53.3% were partially vaccinated. About 7.1 million Pennsylvania adults will need to be vaccinated to reach the 70% mark.

Today’s guidance from @CDCgov affects only people who are fully vaccinated. This is another incentive to get the vaccine that is now easily and conveniently available. Once 70% of Pennsylvanians over 18 are fully vaccinated, we can completely lift the masking order. https://t.co/woMomoME2w

— Secretary Alison Beam (@pahealthsec) May 13, 2021

Health experts in the region said the CDC’s announcement was an important milestone on the path back to normalcy.

“I think it really recognizes the power of the vaccines to allow people to get their lives back,” said Pittsburgh-based Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “I think it’s something that will help people envision what the value of the vaccine is to their personal lives, and maybe it will move the needle on vaccinations.”

Before Thursday’s announcement, the CDC had most recently updated guidance for outdoor masking, allowing vaccinated people to forgo masks under most circumstances, and unvaccinated people to forgo them in some cases. Health professionals have long expected federal regulators to loosen restrictions for vaccinated people for indoor situations, as well.

Allegheny Health Network’s Dr. Tariq Cheema said he was shocked by the CDC’s bold statement.

“I did not expect them to come out with such a strong recommendation – no indoor masks,” said Cheema, a pulmonologist and lead physician for AHN’s covid recovery clinic. “It was a really big surprise to me.”

But the move makes sense, he said.

“I think this is a great day – it should be a national holiday in the future, in my opinion,” he said.

He said he understands the concerns that are out there, including the possibility that the government’s attempts to incentivize people to get vaccinated could backfire. Medical professionals have their own concerns that there could be surges in the near future.

Even so, Cheema said, lifting most indoor mask mandates means that should there be holiday season surges like last year, people might be more amenable to putting masks back on should rising case counts call for it.

“I think a lot of pressure was mounting from all over the place,” he said of the CDC and federal government.

UPMC also expressed approval for the new guidelines.

“The CDC’s updated guidelines on masking will hopefully encourage more people who are still considering getting a covid-19 vaccine, to get one,” the health system said. “UPMC recognizes, as does the CDC, that full vaccination lessens the risk of serious illness dramatically. We also note that in general, vaccination of more people in a community decreases the risk of COVID-19 virus transmission.”

Adalja said he expects some businesses will continue to require masks, as it’s hard for business owners and managers to verify a stranger’s vaccine status. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical advisor, said those who are still nervous about going unmasked—especially around individuals with unknown vaccine statuses—can still continue masking.

Overall, Adalja said the benefits of the CDC’s change outweigh the operational challenges for shops and business owners.

“It’s still going to pose a challenge, and I think businesses are still going to have to figure out a way to operationalize,” he said. “It’s more of a message of ‘this is how good the vaccines are.’”

Staff writer Julia Felton contributed to this report.