Majority of DC Council asks Mayor Bowser to reinstate indoor mask mandate

DC lifting its mask mandate, Montgomery County re-instating order

On the same day that the District announced it would lift its own mask mandate, Montgomery County announced that they would re-instate their own.

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - The majority of the DC Council asked Mayor Muriel Bowser in a letter Wednesday to reverse her decision to end DC’s indoor mask mandate.

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"We have to center public health and minimize risk - especially for our youngest children who still aren’t vaccinated," said councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. on Twitter.

The mask mandate will be in effect until Nov. 22. Mayor Bowser announced the decision to lift the mandate at a press conference on Tuesday.

The letter sent to Mayor Bowser says in part:

"We are concerned that changing course entering the Winter months, not to mention the week before a major travel holiday, is not a prudent course of action. It sends a signal that public health concerns are back to normal when they are not. Our focus should be on getting every eligible person vaccinated, not gambling with the safety of the most vulnerable."

Majority of DC Council asks Mayor Bowser to reinstate indoor mask mandate

The majority of the DC Council asked Mayor Muriel Bowser in a letter Wednesday to reverse her decision to end DC’s indoor mask mandate.

Masks will still be required on public transportation, including trains, train stations, airports, buses and ride-share vehicles, even with the mandate lifted.

They will also be required inside schools, childcare facilities and libraries; as well as nursing homes, shelters, dorms, and correctional facilities.

The mayor's decision came on the same day that neighboring Montgomery County decided to reinstate their indoor mask mandate less than a month after dropping it.

Read the full letter here.