On February 28, the mask mandate in PG County was lifted for most indoor settings. County Executive Angela Alsobrooks made the announcement on February 25. Initially the mandate was supposed to continue until March 9, but Alsobrooks noted that the county’s data indicated that it was safe enough to end it early.

“After consulting with our health officials, we are confident in our decision to lift the indoor mask mandate on February 28,” said Alsobrooks.  She adds on by commending residents for following guidelines from health professionals and wearing masks.

As of today, 86.7 percent of residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine with a positivity rate of 1.2 percent. There is a daily case rate of about 30 cases.

“All of the County’s key COVID-19 metrics have been trending in the right direction, and we expect that to continue in the weeks ahead,” said Dr. George Askew, PG County Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Health, Human Services, and Education. He also commends residents for their efforts in wearing masks and getting vaccinated.

The mask mandate has not been lifted entirely. Masks are still required on public transportation per CDC orders. Masks are also still required throughout PG County public schools. 

Some are worried about the impact the lift throughout the county will have on schools even though masks are still mandated in schools. 

“I can’t say I’m not worried, as it is a realistic concern that any school at any time could have an outbreak,” says Math teacher, Mrs. Metzel. “However I am confident that PGCPS will do what is in the best interest of everyone…we have done actions to keep everyone safe that others have publicly denounced”

Mrs. Metzel, who lives and works in the county, continues on by adding that she has been in areas where the mask mandate have already been lifted which seem weird to her now that masks have become part of daily life now.

“I am still cautious, I still wear my mask. I still remind students to keep theirs on properly,” says Mrs. Metzel.

On the contrary, other neighboring schools systems such as Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) have rescinded their mask mandate and have now made mask wearing optional within their schools. 

MCPS is the largest school system in Maryland followed by PGCPS. They credit vaccines as their best tool in fighting the virus and continue to encourage vaccinations for children five and older, similar to PGCPS.

The Maryland Board of Education has rescinded the statewide mask mandate in schools and has given school systems the right to decide whether or not to keep or lift the mandates themselves within their respective systems.