Court ruling keeps Anne Arundel face mask mandate in effect

Anne Arundel County's emergency face mask mandate remains in effect after a judge on Tuesday denied a motion for a preliminary injunction to block it. The lawsuit filed by two Anne Arundel County business owners claimed the county health officer did not have the authority to issue a temporary mask mandate on Jan. 7. The plaintiffs' attorneys said the merits of a mask order were never at issue, but rather, they called the health officer's move unconstitutional because they said it violated separation of powers. The judge made it clear that state law uses special language when referring to infectious disease and has empowered health officers to issue such orders.