LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Kentucky will "immediately" change its mask mandate to reflect new guidance Thursday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a mask in most situations.
"Today, the CDC has relaxed its masking guidelines to say that fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a mask, indoors or outdoors, with the exception of certain settings like hospitals, long-term care centers, prisons and a few other exceptions," Beshear said in a video posted to social media. "Folks, this is outstanding. It means we are so close to normalcy."
Kentucky's mask mandate remains in effect, but Beshear added that, "we're going to be changing Kentucky's mask mandate to be the same as those CDC guidelines."
He said further information would be released in a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Today’s guidance from the @CDCgov is great news for vaccinated Kentuckians. The commonwealth will immediately follow this guidance. If you haven’t received your vaccine yet, make a plan to do so at https://t.co/OOO3XBV5WW. pic.twitter.com/gbplx1ZNXt
— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) May 13, 2021
Some restrictions have been lifted already. In late April, Beshear said that Kentuckians would no longer be required to wear masks at outdoor events with fewer than 1,000 people. He recommended that unvaccinated Kentuckians still wear masks when people are clustered closer than 6 feet apart at outdoor events.
Beshear ended his video Thursday with an appeal to those residents still on the fence about getting the vaccine.
"Now folks, this means you ought to go get your shot of hope if you haven't," he said. "There are hundreds of thousands of available appointments right now to get vaccinated. When you get vaccinated, the CDC says it is safe to take that mask off. So go on out, get that shot, let’s defeat this pandemic once and for all."
On of the top research doctors for UofL Health said the virus is starting to dwindle thanks to the COVID-19 vaccine, but says even those who got the virus will still greatly benefit from getting the shot.
"People who have been infected with the virus do not have long-lasting immunity against the so-called variants, or the mutated forms, of the virus," Dr. Jon Klein said. "Whereas individuals who are vaccinated have excellent protection against every variant that's present in the United States at the moment."
Indiana's mask mandate changed to a mask advisory in early April. Clark County Health Officer Dr. Eric Yazel said this new information from the CDC is a positive step.
"At this point, COVID-19 is a preventable illness," he said. "We have the vaccine and we have the vaccine available to anybody who wants it. I've not put a single patient in the hospital in the last three months that's been vaccinated."
He said the largest change he expects to see is with businesses that have continued a company policy of requiring masks.
"It'll be interesting to see how they respond to that," Yazel said. "I wouldn't be surprised to see some of those say, 'OK, well now — across the board from east coast, west coast and everywhere in between — we won't require those anymore.' So, I wouldn't be surprised to see that be probably the main change that we notice."
Government buildings in Indiana also still required masks, something that Yazel expects to change soon with this new CDC guidance.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see that get lifted soon with the new data that's out there," he said.
In a release Thursday night, Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker David Osborne announced that fully vaccinated people will not be required to wear a mask inside legislative offices located in the Kentucky Capitol and Capitol Annex.
"We are well past the time for this mandate to expire and our state to go even further in eliminating capacity restrictions," Osborne said.
Ryan Quarles, the Commissioner of Kentucky's Department of Agriculture, said it's time to reopen the state, saying "All of our surrounding states are either fully open or have announced reopening dates, but Kentucky has not. It's past time to fully reopen our economy."
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