New York state has achieved herd immunity, meaning 70% of the adult population has received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine
.
This is a milestone that allows most restrictions to be removed or made optional.
Shops, restaurants, gyms can choose whether to wear a mask or not.
The unvaccinated will have to continue to maintain social distancing and wear a face mask.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said the effort now focuses on areas where there is vaccine resistance.
And California, the first US state to close due to the pandemic, reopens today, revoking most of the anti-Covid restrictions, from social distancing to the use of masks for vaccinated people up to the capacity limits of indoor places
. Masks are still in demand in public transport, in hospitals and prisons, as well as in schools and kindergartens. "There is no American recovery without California recovery," said Governor Gavin Newsom, who heads the most populous and wealthiest state in the United States.