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County Regresses to Substantial Transmission of COVID-19; Board of Health Regulation Cites Resumption of Indoor Mask Mandate Starting at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Dr. James Bridgers, acting County health officer, notified the Montgomery County Council today that the County returned to “substantial transmission” of COVID-19 based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. This change means that the Board of Health regulation mandating masks be worn indoors will resume on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 12:01 a.m. According to the Board of Health regulation, if the County’s rate of transmission is measured as substantial for seven consecutive days,  the indoor mask mandate returns. 

In early August, the Montgomery County Council, acting as the Board of Health, voted unanimously to require that all residents, regardless of vaccination status, wear face coverings indoors once Montgomery County became an area of “substantial transmission” of COVID-19. See Board of Health regulation 19-975 for more detailed information. The 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. 

Visit the County’s COVID-19 data dashboard to review the latest metrics and key indicators. The dashboard is updated daily by 2 p.m. Find additional information on masks and transmission levels on the COVID-19 website. If you are not vaccinated, find free vaccination clinics at www.GoVAXMoCo.com. If you feel sick or think you may have been exposed to COVID-19, get tested. Find free testing clinics at www.MoCoCOVIDtesting.org. 

For the latest COVID-19 updates, visit the County’s COVID-19 website and follow Montgomery County on Facebook @MontgomeryCountyInfo and Twitter @MontgomeryCoMD.

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Release ID: 21-945
Media Contact: Mary Anderson 301-529-7669
Categories: Health, Public Safety