Montgomery Community Media

Montgomery County reached CDC-defined moderate COVID-19 transmission last Thursday and officials said the county’s indoor mask mandate could end later this week. In early August, a county council resolution reinstated the mandate when the county reached CDC-defined substantial transmission. The mandate will end after the county maintains moderate transmission for seven consecutive days. According to […]

During a meeting Tuesday, members of the Maryland Board of Education decided to consider an emergency regulation for a statewide in-school COVID-19 mask mandate. State Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury said he will try to determine if he can legally reject reopening plans from school systems that do not include masking. He said the state’s guidance to […]

In one week, 160,000 mask-wearing students return to Montgomery County’s 209 public schools, some for the first time in a year and a half. Another 2,300 students are enrolled in MCPS’ Virtual Academy. The school board will discuss details of the school start up Tuesday  at 1:15 p.m. An hour earlier, the meeting will be […]

Nearly 3,000 people, the vast majority describing themselves as parents or guardians, signed an on-line petition urging Montgomery County Public Schools to mandate a new detailed lunch policy that would enable students to eat outdoors. In its Aug. 13 recovery guide, MCPS stated it will “[e]ncourage the use of outdoor spaces for unmasked educational and […]

Montgomery County will continue requiring indoor mask wearing until the number of coronavirus cases drop, and County Executive Marc Elrich believes residents can live with it as they did earlier for 18 months. “We are going to keep going ’til our numbers fit the CDC,” he said of the Centers for Disease Control, which recommends […]

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has recommended the county reinstate the COVID-19 indoor mask mandate if the jurisdiction reaches what the CDC defines as “substantial transmission”: 50 new cases per 100,000 residents for seven days, which is about 525 new cases over a seven-day period for the county. According to a county release Friday, “The […]

Update (2:15 p.m.): The county council, sitting as the Board of Health, will discuss and vote on the regulation next week on Thursday, Aug. 5 per a release from Montgomery County. Original (1:30 p.m.): Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich wants to reinstate the COVID-19 indoor mask mandate if the jurisdiction reaches what the CDC defines […]

Gov. Larry Hogan announced plans to lift Maryland’s state of emergency on July 1. The action would put an end to all the state’s mandates and restrictions related to COVID-19. Hogan declared the state of emergency on March 5, 2020—the same day he announced that three Montgomery County residents tested positive for coronavirus. Over the […]

As of May 28, there will be no capacity limits for outdoor gatherings and indoor gatherings will be limited to 250 people, explained Robert Drummer, senior legislative attorney. Face coverings will not be required when outdoors, and those who are fully vaccinated do not have to wear face coverings indoors except when in schools and […]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new outdoor mask guidance on Tuesday for people who are fully vaccinated. According to these new CDC guidelines, people who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks in small outdoor gatherings. This includes people who have received both doses of the Moderna or Pfizer […]