from BBC New US guidance says fully vaccinated people can meet without masks

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that fully vaccinated Americans can return to some sense of normalcy.

Those who have received the required jabs can visit with other vaccinated people and some unvaccinated people, according to the new guidelines.

People are considered protected two weeks after they take the final dose of their vaccine, the CDC said.

Over 30 million Americans have been fully vaccinated thus far.

• Coronavirus cases, deaths, vaccinations by country

Health officials announced the new safety guidelines at Monday's White House coronavirus task force briefing.

The recommendations say fully vaccinated Americans can:

• Meet indoors with other fully vaccinated people without masks or social distancing
• Meet indoors with unvaccinated people from a single household, if they are at low risk for severe illness from the virus
• Skip testing or quarantine when exposed to Covid-19, unless symptoms appear

But they should continue to:

• Avoid non-essential travel and large crowds
• Continue to wear face coverings and maintain social distancing in public

The CDC said there was still a risk vaccinated people could spread the disease to the unvaccinated, as data on this remains sparse. The new guidelines in particular call for mask wearing and distancing from those who are unvaccinated and may be at an elevated risk of serious Covid-related complications.