Prince George’s Co. extends mask mandate into March

The Prince George’s County Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to extend the county’s COVID-19 emergency declaration, and its mask mandate for indoor public spaces, to March 9.

The declaration, which had been set to expire Jan. 23, also now encourages — but does not require — people to wear properly fitting N95 or KN95 masks, or cloth masks over surgical masks. It also encourages people to complete their vaccine series, including boosters.

The council received an update on COVID-19 in the county from health officials, including Dr. George Askew, deputy chief administrative officer for health, human services and education, who said he’s “quite pleased with where I see the numbers going for us.”

“I’m hoping that we have reached the peak of this surge and that we are either in a plateau phase or maybe even on a downward swing,” Askew said, noting that models had the peak of the omicron-driven surge happening later in the month and stretching into February.

“I’m feeling optimistic about where we’re headed as a county,” Askew told the council. He said that optimism came from the continued mask mandate and the decision to transition to virtual classes until after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. “And I think all of those things are contributing to our ability to start making a … rapid decline in our COVID cases, and even starting to see that in our COVID hospitalizations.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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