The CDC is now recommending people who are vaccinated against the coronavirus wear masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where COVID is surging.
Here's where the counties across Maryland stand.
Anne Arundel County:
"We always encourage individuals and businesses to adhere to CDC guidelines, but no new mandates are forthcoming at this time," County Executive Steuart Pittman said. “Our focus is getting everyone vaccinated this summer so that we can prevent the fall surge in hospitalizations and death that many predict. Regardless of economic status, race, neighborhood, or political affiliation, we care about your health. Please take advantage of the free, safe, and accessible protection that we are providing.”
Baltimore County:
“County officials remain committed to taking whatever steps are necessary to protect public health and we continue to closely monitor key metrics in collaboration with our public health and emergency response teams. As we carefully review the latest public health guidance, we continue to prioritize efforts to vaccinate our residents because we know that these vaccines are safe, effective, and our best tool to save lives.”
Harford County:
County Executive Glassman continues to watch Harford’s metrics every day and continues to encourage folks to get vaccinated. Currently, about 54% of Harford’s total population is vaccinated, and about 74% of those 18+ are vaccinated. Our positivity rate is 2.74% which is not considered high transmission, according to national data we’ve seen, so he is not planning changes at this time regarding masks. This guidance just came out, but in any event, he would talk to our Health Department and work with state partners before taking any future action.
Howard County
"The uptick in cases we've seen continues to be mostly among unvaccinated people, but we will continue to closely monitor our data and consider what public health measures, if any, are necessary to mitigate the spread of the delta variant. As we've learned over the past year, mitigation measures are most effective when adopted by an entire region. Howard County continues to lead the state in percent of eligible residents who are fully vaccinated, and we're still encouraging and reaching out to the approximately 15% of eligible residents who have not yet received their shot."
State of Maryland (Department of Health):
State health officials are reviewing the latest guidance from the CDC and continue to closely monitor key state COVID-19 metrics. As of today, July 27, 2021, the state has detected 266 Delta variant (B.1.617.2) cases in the cases that have been sequenced. The Delta variant is said to be up to 50% more contagious than the original strain of COVID-19. We encourage eligible individuals (12 years or older) to get a life-saving vaccine to protect against serious illness.
We will update as more counties come in.
