Gov. Larry Hogan is lifting Maryland’s indoor mask mandate effective Saturday.
Hogan said Maryland’s indoor mask mandate will be lifted Saturday in line with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. The only exceptions will be public transportation, health care settings and schools.
“Today is the day that so many of us have been waiting for and working toward,” Hogan said. “We finally do clearly see the light at the end of that tunnel. Our long, hard-fought battle against the worst global pandemic in more than a century is finally nearing an end.”
For anyone who is unvaccinated, the governor still strongly recommends wearing face masks in most situations.
For people who are fully vaccinated, they can safely resume activities without wearing a mask indoors or outdoors, Hogan said.
Listen: Baltimore and Howard County State Senator Clarence Lam talks to WBAL’s Robert Lang about Gov. Hogan’s decision to lift the mask mandate.
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COUNTIES FOLLOWING STATE: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties said they will join the state in the lifting of the mask order.
Listen: Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman talks with WBAL’s Robert Lang about lifting the county’s mask order.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott released a statement saying the city would follow the state’s lead in relaxing capacity restrictions as of Saturday. The city had been scheduled to lift its capacity restrictions on Monday.
However, indoor masking and masking at outdoor venues will still be required in the city..
Scott wants the vaccination rates to be higher before lifting the mask requirement.
Scott said that the city reached a “significant milestone” Friday night with 39.9% of its population age 16 and older fully vaccinated.
Businesses, workplaces free to set their own mask policies
Businesses and workplaces across the state are free to set their own policies with respect to masking.
“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.”
Listen: Dr. Theodore Bailey, chief of GBMC’s Division of Infectious Disease division talks to WBAL’s Robert Lang about Gov. Hogan’s decision
Retail businesses have been having conversations over mask policies. While the CDC said it’s safe to take off the mask in most situations if a person is fully vaccinated, that doesn’t mean businesses and their customers are necessarily ready to make the change.
Mindy Leiken, co-owner of Necessary Secrets/Bare Necessities said even without a mandate, she will still require customers to wear masks.
“We want to make sure that they’re safe and we’re safe,” Leiken said. “We know that all our employees are vaccinated, but we don’t know who’s coming in, whether they’re vaccinated or not. There’s no way to mandate that.”
Store manager Renee Furman said it’s a personal choice.
“I think that’s probably going to be a personal decision for the customer. We probably would say, ‘You don’t have to have a mask on,’ and we would be comfortable with our customers coming in without a mask on,” Furman said.
Sally Neustadt, a customer, said she feels wearing a mask inside businesses is the considerate thing to do.
“Yes, I’d probably wear them in the grocery stores and so on, even though I’m fully vaccinated,” Neustadt said.
But another customer, Ziporah Spigel, said she can’t wait for the day she can take off her mask.
“(I) cannot not wait to take this rag off my face. I’m vaccinated,” Spigel said.
Of the stores 11 News visited on Friday, all of them said they were all having the discussion about masks first thing Friday morning.
Announcement follows updated CDC mask guidance
The governor’s announcement comes amid new face mask guidance from the CDC.
Earlier this week, the governor announced COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted starting Saturday so that all businesses can reopen.
ALSO: Some states, businesses dropping mask policies for people fully vaccinated for COVID-19
The governor’s announcements come as the state recorded as many as 455,257 COVID-19 cases, as of Friday, since the pandemic began, and 8,716 people have died.
So far, the state has administered more than 5.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and more than 2.5 million people have been fully vaccinated.
