The COVID-19 case rates have gone up in Montgomery County, Maryland, but the mask mandate might not go back into effect just yet.
County Council President Tom Hucker on Monday said the council, meeting as the Board of Health, will vote Tuesday on a proposed amendment to the emergency health regulations. It would reinstate the mask mandate if the county has seven consecutive days of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls 鈥渟ubstantial鈥� transmission.
Last Thursday,聽Montgomery County lifted its indoor mask mandate after the case rate had fallen into the “moderate” range — under 50 cases per 100,000 residents over the previous seven days.
The case rate had already been rising, and one day later, on Friday, the county went back over the threshold into substantial transmission. Under the , the mandate would automatically be triggered.
Current practice has been to give four days’ notice, so unless the council intervenes and modifies the established rules determining how the mandate is triggered, the mandate will resume Nov. 3 at 12:01 a.m.
Hucker said at an online news briefing Monday that the amendment establishing the seven-day horizon was intended to 鈥渁void the yo-yo effect鈥� of abrupt mandate changes.
Under the amendment that will be voted on Tuesday, if the case rate remains above 50 for seven straight days, the seventh day would be Friday, Nov. 5. With 鈥渢he four-day grace period that we鈥檝e been granting throughout this period,鈥� Hucker said, the mandate would go back into effect Tuesday, Nov. 9.
The case rate has stayed above 50 per 100,000 since Friday, meaning it’s been four days in a row as of Monday.
The health regulation at issue dates to early August, when faced with the delta surge, the council聽rolled out data-driven mask rules聽tied to the level of community transmission in the county.
Council Vice President Gabriel Albornoz said acting health officer Dr. James Bridgers had been consulted on the amendment to 鈥渆ngage and clean up, frankly,鈥� the policies that had been in place.
Bridgers said the amendment 鈥渨ill demonstrate strategic and best practices that we currently can deploy.鈥�
Hucker said that the uncertainty over the lifting and possible reinstatement of the mask mandate has been frustrating for residents, but said it was the natural result of being cautious in the face of an unprecedented pandemic.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been no sort of manual on this,鈥� Hucker said. 鈥淭here is no perfect answer. You make the best decision you can with the information you have at the time. And now we have new information.鈥�
Albornoz added, 鈥淚 acknowledge and respect the frustration鈥� over the confusion. 鈥淟et鈥檚 keep our fingers crossed 鈥� that we don鈥檛 have to go back.鈥�
海角社区app’s Jack Moore and Zeke Hartner contributed to this report.
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