The mask mandate in Maryland is being lifted on July 1, 2021.
People in Maryland and Virginia will have something else to celebrate this holiday weekend, the end of emergency COVID-19 restrictions. Both states are set to lift the state of emergency orders that were put in place at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis in March of 2020, effectively returning everyday life to normal. Both Maryland and Virginia have already achieved President Biden’s goal of having 70 percent of the population receive at least one dose of the vaccine by July 4, 2021.
Maryland is lifting its order on Thursday, July 1, 2021, and the order in Virginia will expire on Thursday, June 30, 2021. Beginning on July 1, people in Maryland will no longer have to wear a mask indoors or outdoors and mask mandates will be lifted at schools and child care centers. The state will continue to allow businesses to enforce mask mandates if they wish. Both governors are encouraging people who have not been fully vaccinated to continue wearing a mask until they can get vaccinated.
Image by Spencer Davis from Pixabay
Governor Ralph Northam already rescinded the mask mandate for Virginia on May 28, 2021, but is still requiring masks to be worn in schools. A law in Virginia that prevents people from wearing a mask in public to hide their identity will go back into effect on June 30, but the Governor is working with law enforcement on enforcing it until the issue can be addressed by the legislature.
Maryland and Virginia have each revised the emergency order along the way to lift capacity and masking restrictions. Completely lifting the emergency orders means the remaining restrictions on capacity, quarantines, travel, and evictions will also end. Maryland is giving residents 45 days to get compliant on expired auto registrations and driver’s licenses.
States are just now getting their hands on funds from the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress in March. The bill includes funds for vaccines, contract tracing testing, and other health care expenses along with money for schools, unemployment payments, small businesses, and broadband infrastructure. Governor Northam has called a special session of the Virginia legislature on August 1, 2021, to decide how to appropriate the $4.3 billion Virginia received. Maryland has already announced where it plans to direct the $3.9 billion it will receive.
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