�������ýҕ�l

Disney World and Disneyland will drop their mask requirement for vaccinated guests, starting Thursday. Since July 2021, Disney’s Florida and California theme parks have required masks in indoor spaces for guests 2 years old and older, regardless of vaccination status. Disney does not require proof of vaccination to enter its parks. (Finnegan, 2/15)

After revealing last fall that vaccinations would not be required for entry, the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals have further revealed that there will no longer be any Covid-related barriers to entry at all, not even negative tests. Nor will a requirement to wear masks figure into the picture when millions of selfies go out from the desert this April. (2/15)

Mardi Gras 2022 will stay masked and vaxxed in New Orleans, following a decision from the Louisiana Supreme Court. Justices last week declined to hear an emergency request from the more than 100 plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed two weeks ago, which was aimed at striking down Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s COVID restrictions in time for Carnival’s high days. The sole justice to dissent was Will Crain. Instead, a litany of rules on gatherings in public places will remain in force throughout Carnival season. For now, people attending most indoor events are required to wear masks. They must also show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test if they hope to drink at a bar, dine at a restaurant or party at a nightclub, among other places. (Sledge, 2/15)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to loosen its indoor masking guidelines to states soon, according to several people familiar with the matter. The agency’s update could come as early as next week. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, is expected to discuss masking guidance Wednesday at a White House Covid-19 Response Team briefing. Nothing has been finalized yet, but the CDC is considering a new benchmark for whether masks are needed, basing it on the level of severe disease and hospitalizations in a given community, two people familiar with the situation said. (Lovelace Jr. and Przybyla, 2/15)

As omicron fades and scientists consider when to declare COVID-19 endemic—and, therefore, here to stay—in the United States, governors in 10 states last week leapfrogged federal recommendations and dropped mask mandates. One by one, governors and health officials in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island broke ranks and announced an end date for masking requirements in indoor public spaces such as grocery stores and restaurants and, in some cases, schools. They were joined this week by District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat. (Vestal, 2/15)

For the first time in two years for many people, the American workplace is transforming into something that resembles pre-pandemic days. Tyson Foods said Tuesday it was ending mask requirements for its vaccinated workers in some facilities. Walmart and Amazon — the nation’s No. 1 and 2 largest private employers respectively — will no longer require fully vaccinated workers to don masks in stores or warehouses unless required under local or state laws. Tech companies like Microsoft and Facebook that had allowed employees to work fully remote are now setting mandatory dates to return to the office after a series of fits and starts. (D'Innocenzio, 2/16)

School mask mandates in Virginia will end on March 1 if the General Assembly adopts amendments made by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin to just-passed legislation on the issue. The legislature passed a bill Monday giving parents and students the ability to opt out of mandates imposed by local school boards. But the legislation would not have taken effect until July 1. (2/15)

The official transcript of President Joe Biden’s 20-minute speech about lowering the cost of health care last week in Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s district was more than 3,300 words. “Masks” was not one of them, even though the administration decided just weeks earlier to make high-quality masks available free at retailers and pharmacies around the country as another step to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, governors in blue states such as New Jersey and California announced they would lift mandates that people wear masks indoors. They said it was because the omicron spike in infections had come down markedly without hospitals being overwhelmed, but it also comes after Republican Glenn Youngkin successfully tapped into public fatigue with the pandemic to flip a blue state in the Virginia governor’s race three months ago. (McIntire, 2/16)