May 15, 2021
At least 20 states that still had mask mandates in place this week said by Friday evening that they would exempt fully vaccinated people or repeal the orders entirely, while at least five others with mask requirements had not announced any changes. The rapidly changing rules brought an end to more than a year of mandatory masking in much of the country, even as some said they were not yet ready to take off their face coverings.
“At least 20 times today I kept grabbing my short pockets looking for my face mask,” said Erik Darmstetter, who is fully vaccinated and owns Office Furniture Liquidations in San Antonio. “It wasn’t there. I keep forgetting we don’t need it anymore.”
In San Antonio, Sue Morgan, who said she is fully vaccinated and works at Mr. Darmstetter’s store, was happy to return to something approaching normal.
“I came in with a mask today and wasn’t sure how we were going to approach this,” said Ms. Morgan, who works in customer service at the store. “Then we all took them off. I must say, it’s nice to see faces again.”
