Earlier today, the Maryland State Board of Education voted 12-2 today to rescind its statewide mask mandate for public schools, effective March 1.
This evening, MCPS released the following community message to remind students, staff, and visitors that masks must still be worn inside MCPS schools and offices:
Dear MCPS Community,
Today, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) voted to rescind its emergency mask mandate. A joint legislative committee must approve the decision and determine what date the mandate would be lifted statewide. If the committee approves the MSDE decision, local school districts will have the ability to make an independent decision about mask mandates.
A decision about masks in MCPS will be reviewed and made in the near future.
At this time, all Montgomery County Public Schools students and staff are still required to wear masks in schools and offices. MCPS will provide an update on all COVID-19 mitigation strategies to the Board of Education at its Feb. 24 business meeting.
Montgomery County Public Schools
The Maryland State Board of Education voted 12-2 today to rescind its statewide mask mandate for public schools, effective March 1. This will allow local school districts to decide their own masking policies.
The Montgomery County Board of Education is set to take up the school system’s mask policy at a meeting on February 24.
Governor Larry Hogan today issued the following statement after the State Board of Education voted:
“I want to thank the State Board of Education for heeding our call to rescind its school mask policy. This action aligns with the data and the science, the recommendation of the State Superintendent of Schools, and the guidance of medical professionals across the country.
“I also want to express my sincere appreciation to all the parents who have spoken out in recent weeks. At a time when Maryland has the lowest COVID-19 metrics in the country, this is a major step for normalcy and the well-being of our students.
“The General Assembly must now act swiftly to ratify the State Board’s decision.”
Per the State of Maryland:
Case Rate Down 95%, Positivity Rate Down 90%, Hospitalizations
Down 84% Since Omicron Peak
Week Two of VaxCash 2.0 Promotion, Boosted Marylander to Win $50,000 Today
ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan today announced that the State of Maryland’s COVID-19 positivity rate has dropped below 3% for the first time since early November, as the state’s health metrics continue to decline.
Positivity Rate: 2.92%. Since peaking last month just below 30%, Maryland’s COVID-19 positivity rate has declined by 90.2%. This is the first time the positivity rate has been below 3% since Nov.. 6, 2021. The state is reporting the fourth lowest positivity rate in the nation.
Hospitalizations: 540, ICU: 107. Since peaking last month just below 3,500, Maryland’s COVID-19 hospitalizations have declined by 84.3%. COVID-19 ICU levels statewide have dropped to their lowest level since Aug. 10, 2021.
Case Rate: 11.3/100K. Maryland’s COVID-19 case rate has declined by 94.9% since the Omicron peak, and the state continues to report the country’s lowest case rate.
Second VaxCash 2.0 Drawing Today. State officials are encouraging Marylanders to get their booster shot to be eligible for the state’s Vax Cash 2.0 Promotion. A new winner will be selected today to receive $50,000. To date, the state has administered more than 2.1 million booster shots.
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The Maryland Lottery has announced that the winner of today’s $50,000 VaxCash 2.0 drawing is from Montgomery County.
The promotion is to incentivize Marylanders to get COVID-19 booster shots.
On February 8, the Maryland Lottery and the Maryland Department of Health announced VaxCash 2.0, a lottery that will award $2 million in cash prizes to 12 Maryland residents that have been fully vaccinated.
According to the Maryland Lottery, “the first drawing on February 15 will award a $500,000 prize to one vaccinated and boosted Marylander. The next 10 weekly drawings will each award one $50,000 prize. A grand prize drawing will be held May 3 to award one $1 million prize.”
Visit the official website at www.mdlottery.com/promotion/vaxcash-2/
Today's $50,000 VaxCash 2.0 Winner is from Montgomery County, MD!
Learn more about the promotion here: https://t.co/wzM91O93K5 pic.twitter.com/5DGO0w7cTH— Maryland Lottery (@MDLottery) February 22, 2022
About:
In an effort to incentivize Marylanders to get COVID-19 booster vaccines, Governor Larry Hogan, the Maryland Lottery, and the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) today announced the launch of the VaxCash 2.0 Promotion, which will award $2 million in cash prizes to a total of 12 Maryland residents who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.VaxCash 2.0 follows last year’s successful collaboration between the Lottery and MDH for the VaxCash Promotion that ran from May 25 through July 4, 2021, awarding $2 million in prizes to vaccinated Marylanders.For VaxCash 2.0, weekly drawings will be conducted each Tuesday from February 15 through May 3, 2022. Maryland residents 18 and older who have received an initial shot(s) and a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine at eligible facilities in Maryland at any time are eligible to win. No registration or entry is needed.“It is clear that getting fully protected with a booster is the single most important thing that you can do right now to minimize the impact of COVID-19 and its variants and to help us finally move on from this pandemic,” Hogan said during a Feb. 8 press conference to announce VaxCash 2.0.The promotion will kick off with a drawing on February 15 that will award one vaccinated and boosted Marylander a $500,000 prize. The next 10 weekly drawings will each award one $50,000 prize. And the final drawing will be held on May 3 and will award a $1 million prize.For complete details about VaxCash 2.0, including the official rules and a list of frequently asked questions and answers, visit the
VaxCash 2.0 page.“Fighting a once-in-a-century pandemic takes a whole-of-government response, and we’re extremely proud to do our part for the state,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin. “We hope everyone who is able to get boosted will do so, and we’re eager to meet the VaxCash 2.0 winners.”Each eligible Maryland resident will be randomly assigned a number in a secure system maintained by MDH, which serves as the custodian of Maryland’s vaccination records. Separately, the Lottery will use a random number generator to select a winning number each week from the total number of people who have been vaccinated.
MDH will notify the winners, who must provide written consent of their willingness to accept the prize. Then, the Lottery will contact the winners with instructions on how to claim.
Prizes will be paid from funds the State of Maryland received via the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), federal legislation that included allocations to state governments for COVID-19 relief and vaccination efforts.
Beginning today, masks are no longer required to be worn inside of gyms, restaurants, stores, and other areas. Below is a list of places that, for the time being, will still require masks.
Public Schools: The Maryland State Board of Education has a statewide indoor mask requirement for public schools and is meeting today (February 22nd) to discuss future plans for the mask requirement.
The Montgomery County Board of Education is set to take up the school system’s mask policy at a meeting on February 24. Individual school systems within Maryland will be able to make their own decision on masking requirements.
Last week the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington (ADW) sent a letter to Catholic school parents stating that masks will no longer be required indoors in their Maryland school facilities for students, staff, or visitors beginning February 21.
Public Transportation:
Due to a federal requirement, Metro, Metro Bus, and Ride-On will require all passengers to wear face masks until at least March 18.
In August, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) extended the face mask requirement for, “individuals across all transportation networks throughout the United States, including at airports, onboard commercial aircraft, on over-the-road buses, and on commuter bus and rail systems” until March 18.
City Buildings:
All three cities in Montgomery County have announced that mask requirements will stay in place in city buildings after Montgomery County’s mask mandate expires.
Last Friday, Takoma Park released the following information:
Although Montgomery County’s mask mandate is set to expire on Monday, February 21, the City of Takoma Park will continue to adhere to City Manager Fox’s mask mandatein city buildings and facilities for all employees and visitors until further notice.
This will apply to all employees and visitors of city buildings and facilities, including:
- Community Center/Police Department
- Takoma Park Maryland Library and computer center
- Public Works
- Recreation Center
- Heffner building
Gaithersburg and Rockville will also be keeping their mask requirements in place in city buildings for both employees and visitors.
Gaithersburg City Manager Tanisha Briley told Bethesda Beat, “we are following CDC’s guidance regarding community transmission levels and masking which recommends universal masking when in substantial transmission, which is our current level.”
All three cities kept their mask requirements in place this past October when Montgomery County briefly lifted its mandate.
Per Montgomery County:
For Immediate Release: Monday, February 21, 2022
Effective Tuesday, Feb. 22, at midnight, Montgomery County will terminate its mandate requiring masks or face coverings indoors in locations accessible to the public.
The Montgomery County Council met, as the Board of Health, on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, and enacted a Second Amended Board of Health Regulation to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The updated regulation extended indoor masking guidance in public spaces in Montgomery County until Feb. 21, at 11:59 p.m. and will terminate without any further action by the County’s Board of Health.
“I continue to appreciate everything our residents and businesses have done and continue to do to keep our residents, employees and visitors safe,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “That work and support have been essential in reducing our transmission. While masks will no longer be required in indoor public spaces, I will generally continue to wear a mask in indoor public spaces because wearing a mask, as well as being fully vaccinated and boosted, are the best ways to reduce the risk of transmitting and getting COVID-19. We will continue to monitor the situation, and if there should be another surge, based on our experience over the last two years, we know what we need to do to reduce the risk.”
Despite the mandate being lifted, businesses and other organizations can continue to require customers or visitors to wear a mask in their establishments. The County is strongly recommending that front-facing staff, who have not received their booster, and visitors in County Government offices and facilities continue to wear a mask/face covering in publicly accessible areas. The lifting of the indoor mandate from the Board of Health does not impact mask requirements in Montgomery County Public Schools. The Maryland State Department of Education and Montgomery County Board of Education sets policy for public schools in the County.
“I want to thank all the Montgomery County residents who have been vaccinated, boosted and followed the public health guidance to get us to this stage, so we can suspend the indoor mask mandate,” said Council President Gabe Albornoz, who also serves as the chair of the Council’s Health and Human Services Committee. “In consultation with our outstanding public health team, we have determined that an indoor mask mandate is not required at this point because Montgomery County’s vaccination rates are some of the best in the nation and case rates, hospitalizations, and community transmission rates are low.
“We ask everyone to respect the decisions made by individuals who continue to wear masks and the rules instituted by businesses, health care and service providers and venues located in Montgomery County. The Council will continue to monitor COVID-19 trends and developments with County Executive Elrich and our public health experts, as the pandemic begins to transition into an endemic stage.”
The CDC also recommends that individuals who are unvaccinated should continue to wear mask or face covering when indoors or in crowded areas to minimize the potential spread of the virus.
Visit the County’s COVID-19 data dashboard to review the latest metrics and key indicators. The dashboard is updated daily by 2 p.m. Find additional information on masks and transmission levels on the COVID-19 website. If you are not vaccinated, find free vaccination clinics at www.GoVAXMoCo.com. If you feel sick or think you may have been exposed to COVID-19, get tested. Find free testing clinics at www.MoCoCOVIDtesting.org.
For the latest COVID-19 updates, visit the County’s COVID-19 website and follow Montgomery County on Facebook @MontgomeryCountyInfo and Twitter @MontgomeryCoMD.
Last week the Montgomery County Council, acting as the Board of Health, announced it will not be introducing a new Board of Health regulation to extend the indoor mask requirement. This allows the current Board of Health regulation to terminate tonight (Monday, February 21st) at 11:59pm.
What does this mean?
Masks will no longer be required inside of gyms, restaurants, stores, and other areas. They will still be required in schools, and businesses are able to require them if they choose to do so.
The Maryland State Board of Education has a statewide indoor mask requirement for public schools and is meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, February 22nd) to discuss future plans for the mask requirement in schools.
The Montgomery County Board of Education is set to take up the school system’s mask policy at a meeting on February 24. Individual school systems within Maryland will be able to make their own decision on masking requirements.
Governor Larry Hogan announced Monday that the requirement for masks to be worn in Maryland state buildings will end on February 22.
The Maryland Department of Health has posted an update regarding the “network security incident” that caused its website to be offline several weeks last December, confirming that the incident was the result of a ransomware attack.
During that time the MDH was not able to update its COVID-19 portal with daily case rates, testing, and deaths.
Per the Maryland Department of Health:
A recent network security incident caused disruption to some of the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) operations.
The purpose of this page is to keep Marylanders informed on the progress we are making in our response to the incident. In addition, follow @MDHealthDept on Twitter for real-time updates and information.
MDH experienced a service disruption on Dec. 4 as a result of a network security incident. While the investigation is ongoing—and is occurring on a parallel track to our restoration efforts—MDH can confirm that the incident was the result of a ransomware attack.
On Dec. 4, MDH detected unauthorized activity involving multiple network infrastructure systems. Immediate countermeasures were implemented to contain the incident, and servers were taken offline to protect the network.
The state’s chief information security officer stood up an incident command structure with a focus on protecting the MDH network, conducting a forensic investigation, and restoring core services.
Because of the state’s aggressive cybersecurity strategy, and the use of MD THINK and other cloud-based services, many of the department’s core functions were not affected. There continues to be no evidence that any data were compromised.
To prevent additional damage, we continue to be methodical and deliberate in restoring network systems while prioritizing health and human safety functions
We remain actively engaged with both state and federal law enforcement partners as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
02.04.22 Incident SitRep Update
01.13.2022 DoIT MDH Remarks EHEA HGO Network Incident Briefing
View MDH Employee Network Security Incident FAQ
View Jan. 12 MDH and DoIT network security incident statements
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington (ADW) sent a letter to Catholic school parents earlier today, stating that face coverings will no longer be required indoors in our Maryland school facilities for students, staff, or visitors beginning on Monday, February 21st.
The letter states that depending on the needs of each school’s leaders to prepare, schools will transition between February 21 and February 28. “We appreciate and will fully support whatever decisions that parents make for their own children regarding whether to wear a face covering in school or not.”
Yesterday, the Board of Education in nearby Anne Arundel County, voted 8-0 to remove the mask mandate in all public schools.
The full letter can be seen below:
“Dear Parents and Guardians,
The health and safety of the young people entrusted to our care, as well as that of our staff, are of the highest priority in the schools of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington (ADW). This has been no less true amid the COVID pandemic, during which the ADW has sought to carefully balance the interests of both student health and effective learning. Many area schools went virtual during the 2020-21 school year, and some jurisdictions sought to require us to remain solely virtual as well. We made every effort to keep our Catholic schools open for in-person learning, beginning in September 2020 and carrying through this school year.
The ADW has continued to monitor the guidance of public health authorities and the data as we assess the right time to transition to optional masking in our schools. We also consider local government regulations, which have limited what we can and cannot do. A growing consensus of experts and stakeholders, both locally and across the country, have determined that it is now safe to eliminate mask mandates for schools. This includes some public health experts who previously advocated for mandated masking. The remaining localities with indoor mask mandates have also begun to announce plans to lift those requirements in most indoor settings. Over the past several months, substantial numbers of people have been vaccinated, including younger children, and our schools in Maryland and the District of Columbia are in one of the most highly vaccinated areas of the country. Case numbers have also been steadily dropping locally over the past month in the wake of the delta and omicron variants.
While masking has been one of the health and safety protocols that allowed our schools to stay open, experts have begun to acknowledge that masking children has its drawbacks. We recognize that many parents and students have asked to ease measures such as mask requirements more quickly. Others say they would feel more comfortable maintaining precautions a while longer.
In consideration of all of this, ADW Catholic schools will, beginning Monday, February 21, make face coverings voluntary and optional in jurisdictions where this is possible. This will enable our parents and staff to decide what they feel is right based upon their own situations. This approach balances the desires of those parents, students, and staff who wish to continue to wear masks with those who do not, while still keeping our schools safe.
Archdiocesan Schools in Maryland
Beginning on February 21, 2022, face coverings will no longer be required indoors in our Maryland school facilities for students, staff, or visitors. We have been meeting with school leaders to organize and prepare their communities. Depending on the needs of each school’s leaders to prepare, schools will transition between February 21 and February 28. We appreciate and will fully support whatever decisions that parents make for their own children regarding whether to wear a face covering in school or not. Enforcement of this decision is between parent and child, not school personnel. However, CDC and local regulations still require that everyone using public transportation, including students who use public school buses, continue to wear face coverings.
Archdiocesan Schools in the District of Columbia
In the District of Columbia, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s February 14 executive order continues to require masking in all schools in the District, both public and non-public. The Archdiocese is reviewing these requirements and advocating with city officials to make face coverings optional for our school families in the District. We invite parents to do the same. In the meantime, ADW Catholic schools located in the District of Columbia remain subject to the District’s masking order. As we receive additional updates regarding any change in status in the District, we will continue to share this information with our school communities.
Looking Ahead
ADW Catholic schools will continue to monitor local conditions and implement prudent safeguards and mitigation strategies as we strive to provide safe, in-person instruction. If a major spike in cases or a serious variant emerges, government authorities may reinstitute a face covering requirement. As we have done previously, we will consult with medical experts and public health officials for guidance. All Archdiocesan schools will continue to adhere to applicable public health guidance for individuals who test positive for COVID-19 and those who have been exposed.
Let us remain persistent in our prayers that the virus will continue to recede and our schools will return to pre-pandemic normalcy. I cannot thank you enough for your support to our school leaders and teachers throughout the pandemic. Our family-school partnership is a hallmark of our Catholic school community, which I am proud to lead.
May God bless you and your families.
Peace of Christ,
Kelly Branaman
Secretary for Catholic Schools
Superintendent of Schools”
Starting March 1st, DC’s indoor mask requirement will be lifted in indoor areas including, restaurants/bars, sports venues, gyms, and other areas listed in the image below.
On February 15, 2022, DC stopped requiring venues to verify that patrons are vaccinated. The indoor vaccine requirement went into effect in DC on January 15th, after being announced by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser in December. Businesses can still choose to keep the vaccination requirements in place.
The Montgomery County indoor mask requirement expired on February, 21st.
DC
Per the State of Maryland:
ANNAPOLIS, MD—With the state’s health metrics continuing to substantially decline, Governor Larry Hogan today announced that the requirement for masks and face coverings to be worn in state buildings will end next week.
In addition, the governor has called on the State Board of Education to rescind its school mask policy, and encourages parents who want to weigh in on the issue to contact the board prior to its next meeting.
“Given the dramatic declines in our health metrics, we are now able to take another step toward normalcy in state operations,” said Governor Hogan. “In addition, we continue to offer paid leave for state employees to get their booster shots, which provide critical protection against the virus and its variants. I want to thank all of our dedicated state employees for their tireless efforts that have helped make Maryland’s COVID-19 response a national model.”
COVID-19 Positivity Rate Drops Below 4%. The substantial declines in the state’s key health metrics continue as the COVID-19 positivity rate has dropped to 3.77%—down 87% since peaking last month. COVID-19 hospitalizations have dropped to 751—down 78% since peaking last month. Maryland continues to report the lowest COVID-19 case rate of any state. Official data is available at coronavirus.maryland.gov.
Updated Masking Guidance for State Buildings. Effective Feb. 22, masks and face coverings will no longer be required for employees and visitors in all state buildings and leased space in all public or shared spaces. Masks will continue to be strongly recommended for employees and visitors who are unvaccinated. Updated guidance will be issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and implemented by the Department of General Services.
Paid Leave For Booster Shots. The state is providing two hours of paid leave for any employee who receives a COVID-19 booster shot. The benefit was applied retroactively; employees who present proof of receiving a booster will receive the leave. Booster leave is available to regular, temporary, and contractual employees. All employers are encouraged to offer paid leave for vaccinations and booster shots.
Last month, the Maryland Department of Health and DBM issued updated guidance to state agencies and offices regarding quarantine protocols for state employees.
