Pennsylvania mask mandate lifts next week

Jun. 25—Pennsylvanians can go maskless starting next week unless it is required by the business or building they're in.

The state mask mandate will expire at 12:01 a.m. Monday as promised, Department of Health officials said Friday.

"We are continuing to make progress toward stopping the spread of covid-19 throughout the commonwealth, as many Pennsylvanians have taken responsibility for their own heath and the health of their communities by getting vaccinated," Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said in a statement.

Individual businesses can still enforce their own mask requirements, she said, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines still call for masks in airports and other transportation hubs, hospitals, prisons, homeless shelters and other congregate settings.

A statewide universal masking order has been in place in one form or another since April 2020 when then-Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine signed an order requiring masks inside businesses. In July, officials expanded on that order, mandating that Pennsylvanians mask up each time they went out in public. In November, it was updated to include masking indoors when with anyone outside of one's household.

Since the mid-spring, Pennsylvania has been slowly rolling back the layers of the mask mandate, falling mostly in line with federal guidelines that loosened restrictions for fully vaccinated adults.

Gov. Tom Wolf said in early May that he would lift the mask mandate when 70% of Pennsylvania adults were fully vaccinated. Beam three weeks later built on that, saying the mandate would expire when 70% of adults were vaccinated or June 28 — whichever came first.

As of Thursday, just under 60% of adults in the state were fully vaccinated. About 62% of the entire population is fully vaccinated.

"As we shift to wearing masks less often, it is important to remain resilient in the fight against covid-19, just as we have done together over the last year and a half," Acting Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson said.

She noted that vaccines remain "the best tools we have to defeat" the virus.

"Getting as many Pennsylvanians vaccinated as possible will offer more protection against the virus for everyone and is the fastest and safest way for us to return to our normal activities," Johnson said.

Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 412-380-8519, mguza@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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