Washington, D.C., joined a group of Democratic-controlled jurisdictions to extend mask mandates for schools beyond businesses and other entities.
The separate rules for students announced by Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday mean the nation’s capital joins Hawaii, California, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Washington, and Illinois as the only states still requiring students to wear masks in school.
California, which hosted the Super Bowl in Los Angeles on Sunday, had one of the strictest mask mandates in the nation, including for schools. Yet, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti was among dozens of celebrities photographed at the game unmasked.
The state’s indoor mask mandate expired Monday but is still in place for schools.
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In recent weeks, a number of Democratic-controlled states have lifted remaining COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates for indoor businesses and schools, as cases across the country have declined.
Governors in New Jersey, Connecticut, Nevada, Oregon, and Delaware announced last week that mask mandates for schools would be lifted in the coming weeks. All five governors are Democrats.
But while governors in California, New York, Washington, and Illinois have all relaxed indoor mask requirements, they have exempted schools and elected to maintain mandates for students and teachers.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said last week the nation’s infectious disease prevention agency still highly recommends universal masking for schools, even as states lifted their mandates.
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“We have and continue to recommend masking in areas of high and substantial transmission — that is essentially everywhere in the country in public indoor settings,” Walensky said, just hours after several states announced they would lift mandates.
