GREENSBORO, N.C. — The end of the pandemic keeps creeping closer. The CDC issued new guidance Thursday for getting rid of masks indoors.
Last month, a similar recommendation was issued for outdoors but there's a catch this time.
You have to be fully vaccinated. There are some exceptions and the mask mandate remains in our state.
Two Greensboro business owners said regardless of any new recommendations, they're reluctant to take their 'masks required' signs down.
"It kind of muddies the water - it's going to be kind of confusing," Jennifer Graf said. "How do I know if somebody is vaccinated or not?"
Graf owns Vintage to Vogue downtown. Anthony Knotts owns Seafood Destiny restaurant and said he also thinks it would be hard to monitor customers.
"Are we going to do it like alcohol where you check them at the door? I think that could be a problem because that could cause some confrontation with people," Knotts said.
The CDC said vaccinated people do not need masks indoors or out in most cases but unvaccinated people still do.
"It's a huge milestone. This is a great day, great news, it's been a long time coming," Wake Forest Baptist Health Infectious Disease Expert Dr. John Sanders said.
He said the CDC changed their guidelines because more and more data shows the vaccine prevents coronavirus and stops the spread too.
Our state still requires mask-wearing indoors by Executive Order for now. If that order is lifted, businesses and workplaces can still keep the rule in place.
"It will be up to local businesses how they want to handle this guidance," Forsyth County Public Health Director Joshua Swift said.
Knotts said safety will be his restaurant's top priority.
"Our policy is still going to be for our team, whether they are vaccinated or not, they will continue to wear the mask," Knotts said. "Hopefully, customers will still be respectful of the fact that the sign is on the door."
Graf is not sure whether she would make a change.
"I don't want to turn away customers because they are vaccinated and they choose not to wear a mask but I also want to be safe," Graff said.
Dr. Sanders said he thinks many businesses will end up relaxing mask requirements when the time comes, but that means people who don't get the vaccine will still be at risk.
"The incentive is very, very strong for an individual or a business to get vaccinated," Sanders said.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said they are reviewing this new CDC guidance. They didn't give a time frame but, until a decision is made, masks will still be required indoors.
To be clear, the CDC isn't recommending vaccinated people get rid of masks entirely.
They say masks are still needed in crowded areas, like hospitals, buses and airplanes.