(This article includes updated information about action taken by Charles County leaders and updated COVID-19 statistics for the United States.)
The Charles County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 10 voted to reinstate an indoor public mask mandate effective on Friday Aug. 13 at 5 p.m. due to rising number of COVID-19 cases and increased positivity rates in that county. All residents and visitors over the age of 5, including both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, will be required to wear masks in all public venues, including in church.
That action follows similar recent actions by government leaders in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and the District of Columbia implementing mask mandates at public venues including churches in those jurisdictions, also because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases.
In an Aug. 12 email to local priests, Father Daniel Carson, the Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, noted the reinstituted guidelines for masking in Charles, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and in the District of Columbia.
The priest pointed out that Calvert and St. Mary’s counties “both meet the CDC’s threshold for ‘substantial’ transmission, but these counties have not issued any new masking requirements. Pastors in these counties may, in their discretion, choose to require masking.”
Following mask mandates for indoor public gatherings announced on Aug. 5 by Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, people attending Mass in those jurisdictions are required to wear masks, even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. People attending Mass in the District of Columbia have been required to wear masks, following an indoor mask mandate issued by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser that took effect on July 31.
The Montgomery County Council acting as the county’s Board of Health on Aug. 5 voted unanimously to require all residents regardless of vaccination status to wear face coverings at indoor locations in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for areas of “substantial transmission” of COVID-19. The county has reached that benchmark of 50 to 99 cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days following a surge of cases nationwide caused by the Delta variant of the coronavirus. The indoor mask mandate in Montgomery County took effect Saturday Aug. 7 at 12:01 a.m.
Dr. Travis Gayles, Montgomery County’s health officer, noted that even though the county has a high rate of vaccinations, “we now know that the Delta variant is very easy to spread. To protect those who are not eligible to be vaccinated, such as children under the age of 12, we need to take every measure we can to slow down the spread of the virus. Masks are an important first line of defense to keep community transmission low.”
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced on Aug. 5 that the county, also experiencing a substantial rate of transmission of COVID-19 according to the CDC guidelines, will reinstate an indoor public mask mandate that took effect on Sunday Aug. 8 at 5 p.m. for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory and other religious leaders have strongly recommended that people receive the vaccinations. Several Catholic churches in the District of Columbia and Maryland have hosted vaccination clinics in recent months.
At a January Mass for Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, Cardinal Gregory encouraged people to get the coronavirus vaccine.
“We have the vaccines that are effective in helping to protect us, and I urge and plead and invite all of our students, faculty, parents, grandparents, teachers (and) benefactors to make good use of those vaccines, to get vaccinated,” the cardinal said at that Mass. He added it is the grace of Jesus “that allows these vaccines, and the medical and scientific researchers to prepare and to successfully present ways for us to bring this virus under control.”
Cardinal Gregory, who received his first and second COVID-19 vaccinations at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, said in a March 12 teleconference with Archdiocese of Washington employees, “Given the severity the coronavirus has imposed,” both the Vatican and U.S. Catholic bishops “have all validated the moral and ethical appropriateness of using these vaccines.”
As their jurisdictions announced the indoor mask mandates, Montgomery and Prince George’s leaders continued to encourage residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said, “If everyone were to get vaccinated, it would be a huge help to get control of this Delta variant. But in the absence of a higher vaccination rate in the community, masking is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of the virus. We are implementing these protective measures now so we can prevent further spread so that we can keep businesses open and welcome our children back to school at the end of the month."
Prince George’s County Executive Alsobrooks noted, “The spread of the new Delta variant shows that we can only get out of this pandemic by getting more people vaccinated. If you have not been vaccinated, please do so as soon as possible, not only to protect you and your loved ones, but also to prevent us from sliding back further in our recovery.”
The CDC has said that studies have found that the overwhelming majority of COVID-19 Delta variant cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been among the unvaccinated. That government agency has underscored that the COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be highly effective and safe, and that fully vaccinated people have a significantly lower chance of being infected by the virus or of being hospitalized and dying from it, with breakthrough COVID-19 cases occurring in less than .01 percent of vaccinated people.
Even as COVID-19 restrictions lessened, health officials have encouraged unvaccinated people or people who have not been fully vaccinated yet to wear face coverings in indoor settings outside their homes or outdoors when physical distancing cannot be maintained.
In an Aug. 6 letter emailed to priests in the Archdiocese of Washington, Father Carson had noted that “last week the CDC issued new guidance that recommends universal indoor masking in areas with ‘substantial or high’ levels of transmission.”
(The following information on the District of Columbia is from an earlier report filed by Richard Szczepanowski, the Catholic Standard’s managing editor.)
Saying “we will continue to do what is necessary to keep D.C. safe,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced July 29 that the District has re-instituted a universal, indoor masking mandate for everyone, even those fully vaccinated.
That requirement took effect on July 31, and applies to everyone over the age of 2. Persons attending Mass in the District, even if they are fully vaccinated, must wear a mask.
“We want to get ahead of it and nip it in the bud,” Bowser said at a press conference in reference to the rising number of new cases of COVID-19 being reported in the District and across the country. “We know that masks can be very effective in doing that.”
The mandate comes after Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, the District’s health director, reported the daily case rate of new COVID-19 cases has increased five-fold since the beginning of July.
“Wearing a mask in indoor public settings provides an additional layer of protection for those who are fully vaccinated – and continues to be one of the key ways to protect those who cannot be vaccinated, namely young children,” Dr. Nesbitt said in a statement. “If you are eligible to be vaccinated, we strongly encourage you to do so immediately to minimize the risk of disease, hospitalization, or death,”
The CDC says the Delta variant of the coronavirus spreads easier than smallpox and the common cold, and could be as contagious as chicken pox.
According to the CDC, as of Aug. 12, more than 167 million Americans – about 50.3 percent of the total U.S. population – have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, and 71.3 percent of U.S. adults 18 and older have had at least one vaccination.
In the United States as of Aug. 12, there have been 36,125,176 cases of COVID-19, and 616,459 Americans have died of the disease.
Neither Maryland nor District leaders have indicated that any changes will be coming to indoor capacity restrictions. At present, churches may remain at full capacity.
On July 28, the CDC issued an updated COVID-19 public health recommendation, noting, “Infections happen in only a small proportion of people who are fully vaccinated, even with the Delta variant. However, preliminary evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people who do become infected with the Delta variant can spread the virus to others.”
The CDC recommended that to reduce the risk of becoming infected with the Delta variant or potentially spreading it to others, vaccinated people should “wear a mask in public indoor settings if they are in an area of substantial or high transmission.”
That CDC recommendation also noted that “fully vaccinated people might choose to mask regardless of the level of transmission, particularly if they or someone in their household is immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe disease, or if someone in their household is unvaccinated. People who are at increased risk for severe disease include older adults and those who have certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, overweight or obesity, and heart conditions.”
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