KNOXVILLE, Tenn — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday said anyone who is fully vaccinated no longer needs to wear a mask indoors or outdoors in most situations now.
“Since the CDC is now saying that people are allowed to resume their pre-pandemic activities if they've been vaccinated, that's a pretty ringing endorsement for a return to normalcy," said Brian Strutz, owner of A Dopo Pizzeria in Knoxville.
Spanish Version: Negocios en Knoxville esperanzados después de que el CDC modificara la guía sobre el uso de las mascarillas
Strutz said he believes it’s the biggest change since the very beginning of the pandemic.
"This guidance has got to be the most monumental moment to come out of the CDC during this whole pandemic," he said.
Strutz is also the chair of the Knoxville Independent Restaurant Coalition. He said the announcement will bring big change, though maybe not right away.
"We will continue to keep our staff in mind as we have this whole time, we will check in with them as well as our existing customers and make sure that people feel comfortable with the steps we're taking," he said.
Right now -- the majority of East Tennessee counties have less than 40% of people who are fully vaccinated. The state of Tennessee lags behind the national average as well.
The CDC says about 30% of our state on average is fully vaccinated, but doctors hope to see those numbers go up.
"The fact that people that have been vaccinated and that the authorities have recognized this, it will encourage people to go ahead and get vaccinated" said Dr. Bill Smith, CEO of Alliance for Multispecialty Research.
Even with the shift, Strutz emphasized patience for those expecting immediate changes, because he said health and safety are still top of mind.
"In terms of having an immediate policy change, you're not going to get that out of us. But I do imagine things to change very quickly for our industry," he said.
Even though people who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear face masks in most settings -- they still have to wear them in a health-care settings, at businesses that requires them, and on airplanes. The CDC said people should also wear masks for now in crowded close-contact settings, such as on buses.