The Democratic governors of New York and New Jersey took major steps on Monday toward fully reopening their states.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that New York will lift several mask requirements beginning Wednesday, and Gov. Philip D. Murphy said that New Jersey’s public school students will no longer have the option to learn remotely starting in September.
Mr. Cuomo’s announcement was in accordance with the new guidance for vaccinated people that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week. “No masks, no social distancing,” he said of the policy that will go into effect for vaccinated people on Wednesday.
Masks will still be required in nursing homes, schools, health care facilities and on public transit. Unvaccinated people should continue to wear a mask, he said in a news conference at Radio City Music Hall in Midtown Manhattan.
The move dovetails with the previously scheduled lifting of most capacity restrictions at offices, museums, restaurants and stores on Wednesday. It was significant, however, given the longstanding restrictions imposed on one of the hardest hit cities in the United States. At the same time, California is keeping its rule to wear masks in all indoor settings outside of home for four weeks, until June 15.
In addition, the city’s subway system returned to 24-hour service on Monday. There has been more than one year of overnight closings during the coronavirus pandemic to provide more time to clean and disinfect trains, stations and equipment. It was the longest planned shutdown since the subway opened in 1904.
As of Monday, 52 percent of New Yorkers had received at least one vaccine dose and 43 percent were fully inoculated.
Those in the most crowded public settings must continue to wear masks, Mr. Cuomo said, referring to students at school, public transit passengers and people in homeless shelters.
In New Jersey, some of the largest school districts have not yet reopened to all students, and many families continue to keep their children home.
New Jersey has recorded 1,263 cases of in-school transmission of the virus since schools began to reopen in September, according to the New Jersey Health Department. Less than 1 percent of the state’s K-12 students and teachers had a coronavirus case linked to in-school transmission, while the positivity rate among the general population was 11 percent.
In Massachusetts, remote learning options were eliminated last month for elementary and middle school students, and Connecticut won’t require schools to offer remote learning next school year.
New York is hosting upcoming N.B.A. playoff games inside Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where at least 50 percent of seating will be for vaccinated people, Governor Cuomo said. Masks and social distancing will be required in the section for unvaccinated fans.
Mr. Cuomo said that the Tribeca Festival would return next month and its final night would be held at Radio City Music Hall with full capacity for vaccinated filmgoers and no masks required. The New York City Marathon will return in November at 60 percent capacity, or about 33,000 runners.
The guidance the C.D.C. issued on Thursday said that it was no longer necessary for fully vaccinated people to mask or maintain social distance in many settings. The change set off public confusion and drew objections from some local officials and labor unions, including the country’s largest union of registered nurses. A number of major U.S. retailers have already lifted mask requirements, essentially turning to an honor system that relies on unvaccinated people to keep their masks on in public.
Businesses in New York can still set individual policies and some will require masks. They do not have to do vaccination checks.
“They can check, they can ask at the door, they can ask when you are seated at the table, or not,” Mr. Cuomo said. “There is no mandatory compliance the state is imposing on the private vendors.”
The state’s health department is keeping its recommendation to wear masks indoors where the vaccination status of nearby people is not known. It applies to retail stores, food services, offices, gyms and fitness centers, amusement and family entertainment, hair salons, barber shops and other personal services, among others.
Bryan Pietsch contributed reporting.
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