CDC just loosened its mask-wearing guidance. What does that mean for Boise’s order?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just updated its guidance to say that in many cases, fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks outside.
In Boise, though, you’ll still need to wear one — but that could change soon.
The CDC’s newest guidelines, released Tuesday, say that people who are fully vaccinated (meaning two weeks after a single-dose vaccination, such as the Johnson & Johnson shot, or two weeks after the second shot in a two-dose vaccines, such as the Moderna and Pfizer shots) can “start doing many of the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.”
That means gathering with other fully vaccinated people indoors or with low-risk unvaccinated people from one other household without masks. People at low risk include young people and those without underlying medical conditions.
It also means you can be outside with no mask “except in certain crowded settings and venues.” It still urges masks at concerts, parades and sporting events.
People are still recommended to wear a mask if indoors with unvaccinated people (including children) from more than one other household or when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at severe risk, such as the elderly or those with weakened immune systems.
The guidance now differs from what is being suggested by Central District Health and the city of Boise, although that could change soon.
Central District Health’s most recent advisory recommends that you cover your nose and mouth whenever you’re around another person not in your household if 6-foot social distancing cannot be maintained. It also recommends that you avoid indoor social gatherings with those not in your immediate household. That applies to people in Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley counties.
“CDH is working to update its public health advisory, which will be shared later this week,” Christine Myron, spokesperson for Central District Health, wrote in an email. “With the CDC’s new guidance in the picture, we anticipate our local guidance to reflect what they have shared today.”
Boise’s order requires people to wear face coverings whenever they are in a public place, including outdoor spaces like parks and sidewalks. Boise also has requirements that people stay at least 6 feet apart from people not in their household “whenever possible.”
Seth Ogilvie, spokesperson for Mayor Lauren McLean, said Tuesday that the city was reviewing the guidance, but no decisions had been made.
McLean said earlier this month that she intended to keep the mask order in place “at least for the foreseeable future.” Her decision, she said, matches the recommendations of medical professionals and helps businesses to stay open.
Idaho has never had a statewide mask order in place. Gov. Brad Little, however, has continually encouraged Idahoans to wear them — they are “strongly recommended” in the governor’s latest health guidelines, and required at long-term care facilities.
Businesses may require them though. In Boise, a business can request help if a customer refuses to wear a mask. Customers who don’t risk trespassing charges — although according to the city’s enforcement dashboard, which has not been updated for a month, no one has been cited since December.
This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 3:30 PM.
.jpg)