Mask Requirement Eased In Montgomery County Office Buildings

ROCKVILLE, MD — Fully vaccinated people will no longer be required to wear masks in Montgomery County offices and facilities beginning June 7, according to a notice shared by Fire Department Spokesman Pete Piringer. Unvaccinated people are highly encouraged to continuing wearing a mask.

This is a change from the last guidance, issued on May 28, which said that masks were still required in county office buildings.

Here's where masks are still required in Montgomery County:

• schools
• summer camps
• child care facilities
• homeless shelters
• correctional facilities
• public transportation
• health care facilities

In the May 28 guidance, the county said people who are unvaccinated should wear masks outside if they cannot keep distance from other people. It also recommended wearing masks outdoors at schools and camps, particularly when distance cannot be maintained. The county said businesses are able to set their own mask guidelines.

As of Friday, just over half of the county's residents were fully vaccinated. Sixty-three percent had received at least their first dose. In Maryland, 45 percent of people have been fully vaccinated and 71 percent had received at least one dose.

Montgomery County has moved at a slower pace than Maryland's state government, which eased mask restrictions on May 15. The change went into effect days after the Centers for Disease Control made its announcement that vaccinated people only had to wear masks in a few settings, including health care settings, prisons, homeless shelters, buses and trains.

"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," said Gov. Larry Hogan at a news conference in May. "Our long, hard-fought battle against the worst global pandemic in more than a century is finally nearing an end."