The governor of New York said Monday that the state will lift some mask requirements in accordance with the new guidance for vaccinated people that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week.
“No masks, no social distancing,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, said of the policy that will go into effect for vaccinated people on Wednesday. Masks will still be required in nursing homes, schools, health care facilities and on public transit. Unvaccinated people should continue to wear a mask, he said in a news conference at Radio City Music Hall in Midtown Manhattan.
The move dovetails with the previously scheduled lifting of most capacity restrictions at offices, museums, restaurants and stores on Wednesday. It was significant, however, given the longstanding restrictions imposed on one of the hardest hit cities in the United States.
In addition, the city’s subway system returned to 24-hour service on Monday. There has been more than one year of overnight closings during the coronavirus pandemic to provide more time to clean and disinfect trains, stations and equipment. It was the longest planned shutdown since the subway opened in 1904.
As of Monday, 52 percent of adult New Yorkers had received one vaccine dose and 43 percent were fully inoculated.
Those in the most crowded public settings must continue to wear masks, Mr. Cuomo said, referring to students at school, public transit passengers and people in homeless shelters.
At upcoming N.B.A. playoff games inside Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, at least 50 percent of seating will be for vaccinated people, the governor said, adding that the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets would decide how much of the arena to designate as a vaccinated section. Masks and social distancing will be required in the section for unvaccinated fans.
Mr. Cuomo said that the Tribeca Festival would return next month and its final night would be held at Radio City Music Hall with full capacity for vaccinated filmgoers and no masks required. The New York City Marathon will return in November at 60 percent capacity.
The guidance the C.D.C. issued on Thursday said that it was no longer necessary for fully vaccinated people to mask or maintain social distance in many settings. The change set off public confusion and drew objections from some local officials and labor unions, including the country’s largest union of registered nurses. A number of major U.S. retailers have already lifted mask requirements, essentially turning to an honor system that relies on unvaccinated people to keep their masks on in public.
Businesses in New York can still set individual policies and some will still require masks.
