As the state reopened on Wednesday, New Yorkers who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 were able to remove their masks in most settings — but you wouldn't know it in many parts of the city.
On the same day that it relaxed capacity limits at restaurants and other locations, the state officially implemented CDC mask guidance that allows the inoculated to go largely mask-free.
Jabbed gym-goers were no longer forced to wear masks at the Planet Fitness on West 35th Street and Seventh Avenue in Midtown, but most still did, according to staff.
Miguel Almanzar, who works at the front desk, said, “My boss texted everyone this morning that we don't need to follow the mask policy anymore.” “We're supposed to give them the freedom to do whatever they want.”
Yet "apprehensive" consumers were "all coming with their masks," he said, blaming it on the city's "trauma" from last year's coronavirus outbreak.