Masks In Maryland: 'No More Restrictions,' Governor Says

MARYLAND — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday it was rescinding almost all its recommended coronavirus mitigation rules for how vaccinated people should behave indoors.

The indoor mask mandate will be lifted in Maryland effective Saturday, May 15, according to Gov. Larry Hogan.

"You should feel free to safely resume any activities without wearing a mask indoors or outdoors," Hogan said at a news conference Friday. Businesses and workplaces are "obviously free to set their own policies with respect to masking, and we support their ability to do so."

Public transportation, health care settings and schools are the only areas where masks will be required, in accordance with CDC guidance, the governor said.

"There will just no longer be any legal mandate from the state," Hogan said, as far as what will change Saturday.

The new order on face coverings in Maryland will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 15.

All businesses in Maryland will also be able to open at 100 percent capacity on Saturday, Hogan announced Wednesday, ending COVID-19 restrictions that have been in effect for over a year.

"There's no more restrictions in place," Hogan said. Maryland will still be operating under a state of emergency to enable the government to use the National Guard in its vaccination efforts. "So it [the state of emergency] still remains in place, but there are no more restrictions."

While the mask mandate will be lifted Saturday for all people in Maryland, the governor issued a word of caution.

"For anyone who has not yet been vaccinated, masks are still strongly recommended in most situations," Hogan said. "If you have been vaccinated, you have no reason to wear a mask because you're already set."

Those who still need to get the shot can search for COVID-19 vaccine providers in Maryland.

See Also: Capacity Restrictions To Be Lifted, MD Prepares To Vaccinate Kids

The CDC, which has been providing guidance to states and the federal government since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, dropped its recommendation earlier this week that vaccinated people wear masks and practice social distancing indoors.

The guidance is still in effect for those not vaccinated against COVID-19, and does not apply to health care settings, or crowded spaces such as prisons, buses, planes and homeless shelters.

The CDC did say that Americans need to abide by "state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance" before changing their behavior.

The announcement sent governors and state legislatures riffling through their playbooks for a way to accelerate their pandemic exit strategies.

Determining who was unvaccinated would be a "logistical nightmare," the governor said. "It was much easier just to lift it all and to continue to give people good advice," Hogan said, explaining why the state was rolling back its orders around face coverings.

"Today is the day that so many of us have been waiting for and working toward. We finally do clearly see the light at the end of that tunnel," Hogan said Friday. "Our long, hard-fought battle against the worst global pandemic in more than a century is finally nearing an end."

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Earlier in the week, Hogan said the state's indoor mask mandate would remain in effect until 70 percent of adults had gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

More than 65 percent of adults had been inoculated on Tuesday, and the state was at 66 or 67 percent as of Friday, according to the governor.

"We still anticipate hitting it ... prior to Memorial Day weekend," Hogan said of the 70 percent-vaccinated mark.

While vaccinated people still have to wear masks at hospitals, nursing homes and other health care settings or while using public transportation and at traveling hubs, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said this week: "You can start doing the things that you had stopped doing before the pandemic."

Here is the new CDC guidance if you've been fully vaccinated:

• You can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.
• You can resume activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
• If you travel in the United States, you do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
• You need to pay close attention to the situation at your international destination before traveling outside the United States.
  • You do NOT need to get tested before leaving the United States unless your destination requires it.
  • You still need to show a negative test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before boarding an international flight to the United States.
  • You should still get tested 3-5 days after international travel.
  • You do NOT need to self-quarantine after arriving in the United States.
• If you've been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
  • However, if you live or work in a correctional or detention facility or a homeless shelter and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still get tested, even if you don't have symptoms.

"As many of us take off our masks and start to put this pandemic behind us, I ask each and every one of you to please just be kind and respectful of one another," Hogan said.

“Some people may feel comfortable getting back to normal life right away. For others, it may take more time before they feel safe. That’s perfectly OK," the governor continued. "You are all Maryland strong, and I’m so proud of the people of this great state. From the very beginning of this crisis, we Marylanders truly have been all in this fight together."

Patch editors Rich Kirby and Sarah Salvadore contributed to this report.

See Also: VA Mask Mandate, Other Restrictions To Be Lifted By Governor