Across New York state, many employers now have more leeway to ease mask-wearing and other requirements among those vaccinated against COVID-19. However, the CDC guidance that New York state has adopted still specifies that certain places, including health care settings, cannot yet relax those precautionary requirements and must require masks of staff, employees, patients and visitors, regardless of vaccination status.

Health care settings refer to places where health care is delivered -- including acute care facilities, long term acute care facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, home health care, vehicles where health care is delivered (e.g., mobile clinics), and outpatient facilities, such as dialysis centers, physician offices, and others – presumably including dental offices, therapists, clinical laboratories, or drug/alcohol treatment clinics.

The state’s mask requirement in health care settings is likely related to infection control, especially among those patients or clients with immunocompromising conditions and other vulnerabilities.