Anchorage Mayor Eases Mask Mandate For Vaccinated People In Certain Settings

Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson of Anchorage, Alaska released a new version of a previous emergency order Tuesday, relaxing some of the masking guidelines previously put in place.

The executive order that mandated masking no longer applies to certain vaccinated employees. A press release on the order states, “EO-13 updates guidance for vaccinated individuals in work settings. Fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a mask when separate from the public and unvaccinated coworkers. Employers are responsible for verifying vaccination status of their employees in a manner consistent with workplace anti-discrimination laws.”

The order includes other designations for people who do not need to wear a mask. Designated individuals are no longer required to mask up, including employees who are “totally alone” in their own enclosed working area or office.

The order clarifies that in order for a person to be “fully vaccinated,” two weeks must have gone by since he or she received the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, or the first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This is in “accordance with CDC guidance.”

In the press release, Quinn-Davidson’s office said that the updated executive order “is an easing of the mask mandate that balances vaccination progress in Anchorage with the importance of masks in reducing transmission of COVID-19.”

The press release also clarified that “Masks are still required indoors when in public settings or communal spaces outside of the home and at outdoor gatherings in public.”

The Associated Press reports, “In the Anchorage area, 27% of those 16 or older are considered fully vaccinated, information provided by the state health department shows.”

People in Anchorage must still wear masks or facial coverings when they are in a public environment indoors or in “communal spaces outside the home,” or “outdoors when at a gathering in public.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Frequently Asked Questions portion of its website addresses queries concerning mask-wearing and vaccination.

In response to the question, “Do I need to wear a mask and avoid close contact with others if I have gotten 2 doses of the vaccine?” the website provides the answer,

It depends. For now, fully vaccinated people can gather indoors without physical distancing or wearing masks with: 

• Other people who are fully vaccinated 
• Unvaccinated people from one other household, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19

Until more is known, fully vaccinated people should continue to wear masks and stay 6 feet apart from other people in other settings, like when they are in public or visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households. 

On the website’s resources page, “When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated,” the CDC guidelines describe activities that fully vaccinated person can do, such as “gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask” and “gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household.”

The CDC also states that if a fully vaccinated person is around someone who has COVID-19, the fully vaccinated individual does not need to keep away from other people or get tested for COVID-19 unless he or she develops symptoms.

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