D.C., Montgomery Co. Lift Mask Mandates for the Fully Vaxxed
Dear Members,
In light of the latest CDC guidance saying mask-wearing was not necessary for fully vaccinated Americans, both the District of Columbia and Montgomery County have repealed their blanket mask mandates. In both jurisdictions, those who do not meet the CDC standard of "fully vaccinated" must still wear masks indoors, and businesses in those jurisdictions should still have their non-vaccinated employees wear them.
It is unclear how strictly D.C. and Montgomery County plan to enforce the mask mandate for workers who are not fully vaccinated. That said, we strongly encourage you to thoroughly verify employees' vaccination status before allowing them to go maskless indoors at work, and to document those compliance efforts. Please be mindful that "full vaccination" is defined as someone being two weeks past the final vaccine shot (the second shot for Pfizer and Moderna, the first shot for Johnson & Johnson).
Businesses are also allowed to continue requiring all patrons to wear a mask. If a business wishes to remove the masking requirement for fully-vaccinated customers, it will effectively amount to a full repeal unless the establishment wishes to check patrons' vaccination status upon entry. Businesses in D.C. and Montgomery County who wish to change their mask mandates in light of this new guidance are not required to verify the vaccination status of their customers, so long as they continue posting signage noting that masking is required for those who are not fully vaccinated.
In Montgomery County, all masking requirements, for the vaccinated and the non-vaccinated, will expire on May 28. At that time, all capacity limits will be removed as well. Currently, nearly all indoor retailers are allowed to operate at 75 percent capacity. In the District, nearly all capacity limits on businesses will be lifted by the end of the week, though some large venues will still operate at 50 percent capacity until June 11.
Prince George's County, which yesterday lifted all indoor capacity limits on retailers, still has a mask mandate in place for the time being. Prince George's and Baltimore City are the two major jurisdictions in Maryland that still have blanket indoor mask mandates, and their leaders have previously said those mandates will not be lifted until a higher percentage of their population is vaccinated.
That being said, the recent moves by D.C., Montgomery, and Prince George's, which have long had many of the most significant COVID restrictions in the region, marks a major step on our path to recovery. As I noted last week, I hope that the ability for fully-vaccinated employees to go maskless will act as yet another incentive for all your workers to get the shots as soon as possible.
Please also note that, in line with the latest CDC guidance, masks remain mandatory on public transit, in government buildings, health-care settings, schools, and prisons, and in private businesses that still require their use.
As always, if you have any questions about any of these orders, please contact me or Joe Koch (jk@wanada.org) at any time.
Sincerely,
John O'Donnell
WANADA President and CEO
