Pirates lift mask mandate for fully vaccinated fans at PNC Park

The Pirates announced Friday that fully vaccinated fans will no longer need to wear a face mask at PNC Park.

On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased public health guidelines for mask wearing, allowing people to safely stop wearing masks inside in most places as well as outdoors in crowds.

Fans who are not yet fully vaccinated against covid-19 must continue to wear a face mask at PNC Park, as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Pirates said in a statement.

“We are exited to be able to quickly adjust our face mask policy, consistent with the Department of Health’s announcement,” Pirates president Travis Williams said in a statement. “This is another huge step in our return to normalcy here in Pittsburgh. We appreciate the patience and cooperation of our fans as we continue to adjust our health and safety protocols accordingly.”

We announced today a relaxing of the face mask policy at PNC Park.
MORE: https://t.co/ymP0JrU36C pic.twitter.com/zKOa72cqpq

— Pirates (@Pirates) May 14, 2021

Next week, the Pirates plan to announce details regarding increases to capacity at PNC Park for the remainder of the season, along with adjustments to health and safety protocols throughout the ballpark.

The Pirates had required fans to wear face masks at all times, except when actively eating or drinking at the ballpark.

PNC Park has been operating at 25% capacity this season, per a directive from Gov. Tom Wolf. The Pirates will be allowing more fans in the coming weeks after Wolf expanded allowances to 75% capacity, starting Monday.

The Pirates weren’t permitted to have fans in attendance for the team’s 30 home games last season because of the covid-19 protocols.

“We join our partners at Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Health in encouraging everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible so that we can reach the 70% threshold in Pennsylvania and remove the mask mandate entirely,” Williams said.