GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC26) — Some Green Bay business managers feel "excited" following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest mask-wearing guidelines for fully vaccinated Americans.
At a White House briefing Thursday, CDC officials announced people who are fully vaccinated no longer need to wear face coverings in most indoor or outdoor settings.
- CDC says fully vaccinated Americans can go without face masks in most settings
- Despite city's mask mandate expiring, Green Bay Metro still requires masks
“I feel pretty confident that it’s okay as more people are getting vaccinated and numbers (are) going down," said Jill Zelzer, manager/buyer at A Bag Lady on Broadway. "So I’m confident that it’s going to be an okay thing.”
Green Bay's mask mandate expired on May 5. Zelzer said the retail shop no longer requires the use of face coverings. She said people are welcome to wear masks while shopping for their bags, clothes or jewelry if they feel more comfortable. Staff will do the same.
Zelzer said it would be too difficult to vet if people entering the store are fully vaccinated. This way, she said people can decide what's best for themselves.
“I don’t think we could say, “are you vaccinated? Well then come on in. Oh you’re not vaccinated? Then put your mask on.” Plus I don’t feel like I want to police that," Zelzer said. "I'm hoping people are going to be honest."
Similarly, staff at Furs & Clothing of Distinction in downtown Green Bay encourage customers to wear a face mask if they feel more comfortable with it on while browsing through the racks of clothes and furs. Employees will also wear a face covering if customers prefer.
“We’re very happy to be able to have our customers who are fully vaccinated to come in and shop mask free," said Jill Muenster, business manager of Furs & Clothing of Distinction. "We’re just very excited about it and we feel it’s really - the direction is showing us that we’re on the right track now.”
Muenster said the store will operate on a honors system for those who are fully vaccinated and chose not to wear a face covering in the store. She said if the research shows it's safe for fully vaccinated people to not wear masks in her store, it's time to take the step forward.
“I hope to see this all work out exactly the way we’re anticipating and that we just get back to what we had before," Muenster said. "You know, there are times when we think, ‘oh, we don’t just like normal.’ But you know what? Normal is good.”
Following the CDC's new guidance, Outagamie County announced it's removing the face covering requirement put in place April 1. The change is effective immediately.
