The county had been in substantial and high transmission for months until Thursday, Oct. 21 when Bridgers notified the Council that the County had moved into moderate transmission of COVID-19 based on CDC guidelines. That change meant that the Board of Health regulation mandating indoor masks was lifted after the County remained in moderate transmission for seven consecutive days. Effective Thursday, Oct. 28, Montgomery County suspended its mandate requiring masks or face coverings indoors in locations accessible to the public. The guidelines for suspending the mandate are outlined in the Board of Health regulation 19-975 that was adopted on Aug. 5.
Many situations will still require masks to be worn in the County even if the county mask requirement is lifted. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requirement for face coverings on all public transportation remains in place until at least Jan. 18 and pertains to all forms of public transportation in the County. All passengers are required to wear face coverings when traveling by public transportation. The regulation covers Montgomery County Ride On buses, Ride On extRa, Flex, Flash, Metrobus, Metrorail, taxis and on-demand car services. Riders must wear a face covering for the entire duration of their trip.
In early August, the Montgomery County Council, acting as the Board of Health, voted unanimously to require that all residents, regardless of vaccination status, to wear face coverings indoors when Montgomery County became an area of “substantial transmission” of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recommended in July that jurisdictions with substantial or high transmission rates of COVID-19 should require that masks be worn indoors. The CDC defines substantial transmission as 50-99 cases per 100,000 residents over a period of seven days.