Covid-19: Vaccinated Americans don’t need to wear masks outdoors

New York - The change comes as more than half of US adults have gotten at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine

US health officials say fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to wear masks outdoors unless they are in a big crowd of strangers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the updated guidance on Tuesday. Previously the CDC had been advising that people should wear masks outdoors if they are within six feet of each other.

The change comes as more than half of US adults have gotten at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, and more than a third have been fully vaccinated.

The CDC guidance says fully vaccinated or not, people don’t have to wear masks outdoors when they walk, bike or run alone or with members of their household. They also can go maskless in small outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated people.

Unvaccinated people should wear masks at outdoor gatherings that include other unvaccinated people. They also should keep using masks at outdoor restaurants.

The coronavirus has killed more than 570,000 people in the US, the highest death toll in the world.

• USA