BEAUMONT, Texas — Masks have been a big part of our lives for more than a year, and as of Tuesday night, America is inching closer to some normalcy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new mask guidelines for those who are completely vaccinated, saying it's safe to return to most outdoor activities without a mask.
President Joe Biden delivered the good news this afternoon. So, what do some of the guidelines look like?
You can ditch the mask if you're exercising outdoors, attending a small, outdoor gathering with other vaccinated and non-vaccinated friends and family, or going to an outdoor restaurant with friends from different households.
Under this new guidance, the CDC still wants you to wear your mask at big outdoor events like the Port Neches Riverfest and YMBL South Texas State Fair, but again the new guidance is only for fully vaccinated people.
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But, when it comes to the local vaccine rollout, our numbers are falling short.
Beaumont Dr. Msonthi Levine agrees with the new guidance.
"They've looked at the data and crunched the numbers and this is basically the result of that again is allowing vaccinated people to move around a little bit more freely," Dr. Levine said.
Dr. Levine wants Southeast Texans to take the new guidelines seriously.
He says if you plan to attend an outdoor spring event, you should mask up, vaccinated or not.
He's worried without the proper protection that big events could mean big trouble and possibly another spike in COVID-19 cases.
"With the virus still circulating out there, a large event obviously can be a time for a super-spreader event to occur because not everyone is going to be vaccinated," Dr. Levine said.
And when it comes to vaccinations, Southeast Texas continues to lag.
Only 25 percent of adults are fully vaccinated in Jefferson County, and the crowds at local mass vaccination hubs have significantly gone down.
From the week of March 29 to the week of April 19 there was a 65 percent decrease in vaccines distributed in Jefferson County.
It's another reminder as Dr. Levine says, we can't let our guard down now.
"If everyone started taking off their masks now and not wearing anything and visiting and socializing like we did before the pandemic, we would certainly see a big spike. There's no question," Dr. Levine said.
While masks won't be required this weekend at the Port Neches Riverfest president Lance Bradley say they are taking steps to keep people safe.
Bradley says there will be plenty of room for social distancing, and extra sanitation stations will be set up around the festival.
"I feel like we're doing everything we can do, and you know obviously we need the cooperation and help of the public as well to do their part,” Bradley said.
Bradley says there should be plenty of space for people to socially distance outside at the festival, and he also encourages people to follow the CDC’s latest guidance on outdoor mask wearing.
