Meanwhile, Montgomery County will reinstate its mask requirement.
The mask mandate in Washington, D.C., is being lifted for indoor public spaces for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. The news was announced by Mayor Muriel Bowser during a press conference on November 16. Lifting the mandate is part of a new long-term strategy to mitigate the spread of coronavirus without imposing across-the-board mandates.
Hours after Mayor Bowser made the announcement, nearby Montgomery County in Maryland announced it would be reinstating a mask mandate after dropping it just two weeks ago.
The mask mandate in D.C. will be lifted on Monday, November 22, and excludes select indoor spaces like schools and public transportation. A third wave of the virus hit the city in mid-June and plateaued in mid-September. During the wave, 1 in 7 people who caught the virus were fully vaccinated. However, data shows that death from coronavirus in vaccinated persons is extremely rare, while 100% of the people hospitalized last week were unvaccinated.
Going forward, health officials are tying risk levels to vaccination status and encouraging everyone who is eligible for a vaccine or booster to get the shot. Private businesses will still be free to impose a mask mandate in the workplace and people who are not vaccinated are encouraged to wear a mask.
Masks will still be required in the following indoor spaces:
- Public transportation includes buses, trains, rideshares, as well as inside train and bus stations.
- Schools, child care centers, and public libraries.
- Nursing homes, shelters, residence halls, and correctional facilities.
- City government buildings where people interact with one another.
On Saturday, November 20, residents and visitors in Montgomery County, Maryland, will once again be required to mask up. Acting county health officer Dr. James Bridgers made the decision to reinstate the indoor mask mandate after the number of cases pushed the county into the “substantial transmission” category.
The previous indoor mask mandate was lifted on October 27.
