The District of Columbia (D.C.) indoor mask mandate policy is no longer in effect starting today, though some exceptions still exist.
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced last week that Monday, Nov. 22 would be the first day without the blanket masking policy for all indoor locations.
Public transportation, schools, nursing homes, and correctional facilities are among several areas that will still be requiring masking regardless of vaccination status, FOX5DC reported.
Private businesses will now be given the discretion to require masking or not rather than being forced to enforce the policy onto customers.
The Democrat mayor made the decision to drop the mandate despite members of the D.C. council urging her to keep it in place, according to WTOP News.
D.C. Health official Patrick Ashley noted that this decision aligns with the complicated nature of public health decisions.
“Some of that public health response also has to do with consumer fatigue,” Ashley said, WTOP News reported. “We also know that while some feel very strongly about wearing mask, a large portion of the population feels very strongly about not wearing a mask. And so trying to balance all of that together is how we came to the decision that we did come to.”
