The Latest: Vaccinated don’t need masks at work in Anchorage | World
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — People who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks at work in Anchorage when they are in their own workspace away from the public and unvaccinated colleagues, under an updated emergency order that took effect Tuesday.
The order was signed Tuesday by Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson. Her office, in a release, called the update an easing of an existing mask mandate “that balances vaccination progress in Anchorage with the importance of masks in reducing transmission of COVID-19.”
Under the order, employers would have to verify an employee’s vaccination status, “in a manner consistent with workplace anti-discrimination laws.”
Masks still are required in Anchorage in indoor public settings and communal spaces outside the home and at outdoor public gatherings.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider a person fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of a two-dose vaccine or two weeks after receiving a one-dose vaccine.
In the Anchorage area, 27% of those 16 or older are considered fully vaccinated, information provided by the state health department shows.
VACCINES: More than 82.7 million people, or 24.9% of the U.S. population, have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 44.9 million people, or 13.5% of the population, have completed their vaccination.