Montgomery County returned to high COVID-19 community level transmission this week.
During a media briefing Wednesday, Acting Health Officer Dr. James Bridgers said there is currently no recommendation to reinstate an indoor mask mandate, but leaders do encourage mask-wearing.
“There is no public health recommendation on the horizon to reinstate a mask mandate,” Bridgers said.
“The mask recommendation has never really gone away,” he said. “In those cases where we have lower or medium transmission rates, they are protective measures, individual and congregate measures as defined by the CDC that we present and we indicate to the general public.”
The county reported 342 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and an average of about 233 cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days. On Tuesday, the county reported an average of 13.1 COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 residents during the past seven days.
“If you’re taking a bus or going somewhere indoors, have a well-fitting mask ready to put on regardless of your vaccination status,” County Executive Marc Elrich said.
