Photo: Gov. Tom Wolf wears an “I got My COVID-19 Vaccine” sticker while departing after receiving his first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Family First Health Center in York, Pa., Monday, April 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is lifting its mask mandate no later than June 28.
The Department of Health announced Thursday that it will no longer require unvaccinated people to wear masks in public on June 28 or once 70% of adults are fully vaccinated, whichever comes first. People are considered fully vaccinated once they are two weeks beyond their last required dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
According to federal data, 70% of Pennsylvania residents aged 18 and over have already received at least one vaccine dose, with just over half of the adult population fully vaccinated.
“What all of this means is that Pennsylvanians are realizing that they have the power to stop COVID-19, and that they are stepping up to get vaccinated. It also means that we are on track to get to 70% of all adults with second doses by the end of June,” Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said at a news conference on Thursday.
Businesses, schools and municipalities may still require people to wear masks, the Health Department said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also requires them on planes, trains, buses and public transportation hubs.
With the pandemic in retreat, the state previously announced plans to lift nearly all mitigation orders on Memorial Day. New infections continue to fall rapidly, declining by more than 40% over the past two weeks to fewer than 1,300 per day, according to Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
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