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People vaccinated against COVID-19 are no longer required to wear masks outdoors in most settings, according to released by the CDC on Tuesday.

Fully vaccinated people can now without wearing a mask, except in certain crowded settings or venues." Safe activities include being outdoors with members of your household, attending small outdoor gatherings with vaccinated and unvaccinated people, and dining outdoors at a restaurant with friends from multiple households.

While the agency graded attending a crowded outdoor event like a live performance, parade, or sporting event as "safe" for vaccinated individuals, they still recommend masking during these events.

CDC updated masking guidance for unvaccinated individuals as well -- noting that even those who are unvaccinated can now "walk, run or bike outdoors with members of your household" and an unvaccinated individual can "attend a small, outdoor gathering with fully vaccinated family and friends" without a face covering.

But unvaccinated people should continue to wear masks when attending small outdoor gatherings with a mix of fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people, though CDC grades this activity as "safe." They should also continue to wear masks when dining outdoors at a restaurant with friends from multiple households (graded as "less safe") and when attending crowded outdoor events (graded as "least safe").

At a briefing on Tuesday, CDC director Rochelle Walensky, MD, emphasized that while outdoor activities without a mask are safe for vaccinated people, "we continue to recommend masking in crowded outdoor settings and venues, such as packed stadiums and concerts, where there is decreased ability to maintain physical distance and where many unvaccinated people may also be present. We will continue to recommend this until widespread vaccination is achieved."

Indeed, while CDC graded all indoor activities as "safe" for vaccinated individuals, those who were unvaccinated were "less safe" visiting a barber or hair salon, going to an uncrowded mall or museum, riding public transportation with limited occupancy, or attending a small indoor gathering with vaccinated and unvaccinated family members.

The agency warned unvaccinated individuals that certain activities indoors are "least safe," and they should remain masked:

• Going to an indoor movie theater
• Singing in an indoor chorus
• Eating in an indoor restaurant or bar
• Participating in a high-intensity indoor exercise class

"Although these vaccines are extremely effective, we know this virus spreads very well indoors," Walensky said. "Until more people are vaccinated and while we still have more than 50,000 cases a day, mask use indoors will provide extra protection."

Walensky cited "increasing data" that more transmission is happening indoors than outdoors.

"Less than 10% of documented transmission in many studies has occurred outdoors. We also know there's almost a 20-fold increased risk of transmission in the indoor setting rather than the outdoor setting," she added.

She noted that 37% of people older than age 18 are fully vaccinated in the U.S. This plus declining case rates motivated this change in guidance.

Director of Enterprise & Investigative Reporting, Kristina Fiore, contributed to this story.

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