Mask Mandate To Be Lifted In Anne Arundel County Public Schools

Jacob Baumgart
·5 min read

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Masks will be optional starting Friday in Anne Arundel County Public Schools and its associated facilities.

AACPS Superintendent George Arlotto announced Wednesday that he would formally suggest revoking the face covering requirement. The Anne Arundel County Board of Education voted unanimously at that night's meeting to support his recommendation and end the mandate.

Masks are still be required on buses and at all schools on Fort George G. Meade. Federal rules take precedent in these two situations.

At the meeting, Arlotto also said spring high school student-athletes will not have to get vaccinated or undergo frequent testing. That policy was in place for the winter season. Winter student-athletes still must follow that protocol through the end of their seasons.

“Our case rate in Anne Arundel County has been below 20 for the last week and below 15 for the last five days,” Arlotto said in a Wednesday press release. “I believe the appropriate move at this time is to make masks optional for all of our students and employees.”

Regulations from the Maryland State Board of Education let school systems lift their face covering requirements after they meet one of three conditions. One of those pathways is a local school board voting to lift the mandate after its county reaches 80 percent vaccination among eligible residents.

The Maryland Department of Health on Wednesday confirmed that Anne Arundel County meets the COVID-19 immunization benchmark, Arlotto said.

Gov. Larry Hogan expects the state school board to follow Anne Arundel County's lead and lift its mask mandate for all the remaining jurisdictions "in the next week or so."

Lifting Mask Mandates Statewide

This is the latest news in a statewide push to revoke the remaining mask mandates.

Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman previously reinstated an indoor face covering requirement for local businesses on New Year's Eve. The Anne Arundel County Council voted to let that temporary emergency order expire on Jan. 7.

Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman stepped in and issued his own mask mandate hours later. After an unsuccessful court challenge, that public safety order ran its course and ended as planned on Jan. 31.

Stores are now free to decide whether they will require masks.

Pittman and Kalyanaraman instituted their business face covering requirements during the omicron spike. Health metrics have since improved.

Hogan and Pittman announced this week that masks will be optional in state and county government buildings starting Tuesday, Feb. 22.

Improving Metrics

Maryland's case rate has fallen to 11.92 new infections per day per 100,000 residents. That's down from the all-time high of 221.17 on Jan. 8. The case rate is still above its recent minimum of 11.16 reported on Nov. 5, 2021, and its overall low of 0.9 recorded on June 25, 2021.

The state's positivity rate has dropped to 3.51 percent, down from the high of 29.98 percent on Jan. 5. The percent positivity was as low as 2.91 percent on Nov. 4, 2021. The all-time low of 0.54 percent was recorded on June 28, 2021.

Maryland now has 677 COVID-19 hospitalizations. That's an improvement from the peak of 3,462 patients on Jan. 11. Hospitalizations are still up from the recent low of 490 registered on Nov. 14, 2021, and the record minimum of 97 posted on July 1, 2021.

The state has reported 13,705 COVID-19 deaths.

Marylanders can get tested by visiting COVIDtest.maryland.gov.

Vaccine Update

A total of 4,443,743 Marylanders are fully vaccinated out of a population of 6,177,224. About 98.06 percent of seniors, 95 percent of adults and 89.8 percent of residents 5 or older have gotten at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Maryland has also made some headway on the newest group eligible for the shot. About 43.79 percent of kids aged 5 to 11 have gotten their first injection since they were cleared for immunization in late October 2021.

The state has given 2,120,662 booster shots.

Maryland's infection and vaccine metrics are updated daily at coronavirus.maryland.gov.

Who's Eligible For First Doses

The Pfizer immunization is the only one with full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That clearance is good for residents 16 and up. Pfizer also has emergency use authorization for anybody aged 5 to 15 for their first two doses

The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson inoculations have emergency use authorization for locals 18 and up.

Emergency use authorization requires less FDA review than full approval, which is the golden stamp of support from regulators.

Who's Eligible For Boosters

Residents 18 and up who got the Pfizer inoculation can get a booster shot of any kind five months after their initial two doses. Locals 12 to 17 who got the Pfizer must also wait five months, but they are only eligible for the Pfizer booster.

Locals 18 and up must wait six months after their Moderna injections or two months after their Johnson & Johnson vaccines to get a booster shot. Once that time passes, they can get any booster they want.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended getting the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna booster, not the Johnson & Johnson. Experts still urged locals to get Johnson & Johnson's extra dose if Pfizer and Moderna are not available.

Maryland's booster shot guidance is posted here. The graphic below clarifies who is eligible for a booster.

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This article originally appeared on the Annapolis Patch