Jason Lubell holds ‘Frank Sinatra,’ his Hungarian Puli dog, in Washington Square Park on January 19, 2022 in New York City. "We all share the same goal – to get to a point where COVID-19 is no longer disrupting our daily lives, a time when it won’t be a constant crisis – rather something we can prevent, protect against, and treat," Walensky said.With the omicron variant waning and Americans eager to move beyond the virus, government and business leaders have been out ahead of the CDC in ending virus measures in the last week, including ordering workers back to offices, eliminating mask mandates and no longer requiring proof of vaccine to get into restaurants, bars and sports and entertainment arenas.RELATED: California ends mask mandate, but not all counties are ditching masksThe efforts have been gaining more steam each day.Philadelphia officials on Wednesday said the city’s vaccine mandate for restaurants was immediately lifted, though indoor mask mandates remain in place for now.
At Disney World, vaccinated guests will no longer have to wear masks at the Florida theme park starting Thursday. Professional sports teams including the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards and Capitals have stopped requiring proof of vaccine for fans.Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said Philadelphia’s average daily case count had dropped to 189 cases per day in the city of more than 1.5 million people.