Maryland and Virginia lifted their indoor mask mandates Saturday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that people fully vaccinated against the coronavirus could go safely without them. But not everyone was rushing headlong to discard them.
Outdoors, noses and mouths emerged, but many people said going barefaced indoors still felt like a step too far, even if they were vaccinated. But making decisions isn’t straightforward, with people looking to a patchwork of different rules set by states and local governments to help figure out was right, and drawing conclusions based on what seems polite as much as what is safe.
Businesses have another set of calculations. Those working in stores and restaurants said they’re worried the prevailing message that the era of mask-wearing is coming to an end will make it harder to require face coverings to protect unvaccinated workers and customers. For now though, they are able to point to local mandates in many parts of the region.
For all the complexities and hesitations, there were clear signs across the area that weekends could quickly get back to something like normal. In Virginia, the good weather drew people to Alexandria’s waterfront. In the District, people flocked to the National Mall area, where four Smithsonian museums and the National Gallery of Art were reopened on Friday. And in Baltimore, Pimlico Race Course hosted the 146th annual Preakness Stakes.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced late Friday that he was lifting the state’s indoor mask mandate, and the change coincided with a previously announced move to lift capacity limits on businesses beginning Saturday. But as has been the case throughout the pandemic some local jurisdictions are taking a more cautious approach. In Prince George’s County, officials said they would leave their indoor mask requirement in place. The leaders of Montgomery County have yet to make a decision.
Amanda Staffier, 33, one of the guests at the party in the park, said the invitation had asked people to follow Montgomery County’s rules, which don’t require masks outdoors. But what has given her most comfort personally was advice from a doctor that the risk to her children was very low. Besides, Staffier said, most of the people in her social group are vaccinated.
“That makes it feel safer,” she said.
John Sygar, 27, said he’d made a different determination when it comes to his music classes, which he’s been holding throughout the pandemic. He gathered a handful of families in the shade of a huge tree, played guitar and sang through a mask. He said he feels responsible for the people who attend.
“If someone gets sick, that’s the business, the class is over at that point,” Sygar said. “At this uncertain point in time, the mask is comfortable for me.”
The new CDC guidance marked a milestone in the vaccination campaign and came as case counts and hospitalization rates continue to fall. The District reported 106 new cases and 2 deaths Saturday; Maryland reported 378 cases and 17 deaths; and Virginia reported 685 cases and 17 deaths.
But large numbers of people remain unvaccinated, and there’s no way to reliably know who has had their shots. This has led business owners and managers to err on the side of continuing to require masks — and the CDC guidelines remind people they still have to follow local rules or those set by businesses.
On Bethesda Row, Karen George, the bar manager at the restaurant Hawkers, said Friday night already saw some tension with customers who thought masks were no longer necessary, even though Montgomery County’s rules require them indoors at restaurants and for unvaccinated diners outside.
“It started to be weird yesterday,” she said.
George said she’s excited to get back to normal and that business has picked up even with some rules still in place. Given that, she said it’s better to be careful, especially as a large proportion of the staff has yet to get vaccinated.
Hostess Aaliyah Jeffries is among them, scheduled to get her second shot in the coming week. The 22-year-old said she knew that working during the pandemic presented a risk, but it was one she had to take.
“I am a college student, and I do need money,” Jeffries said.
Just inside the door at Signature Pieces Boutique, a clothing and homeware shop in Hyattsville, shoppers are asked to sanitize their hands before looking around. Owner Wendy Jackson said she’s concerned that she doesn’t know who is protected and that the virus is continuing to spread. Jackson hasn’t ruled out closing the store, but said it’s her only source of income.
“I’m scared,” Jackson said. “I’m paranoid.”
Even less formal groups are having to think about what will make people feel comfortable and safe. Teachers Edwin Hopkins and Kelley Ukhun said a social group they’re part of announced Saturday that it wouldn’t require masks when meeting outdoors. Ukhun pulled a mask up from her chin when a reporter approached. Hopkins kept his down.
“I just can’t stand it,” said Hopkins, who nevertheless expects to be wearing a mask at work for a while. “I can’t wait to be fully free.”
“It’s because he’s pretty,” Ukhun said — joking that her friend wanted people to be able to see his face.
“No, it’s comfort and breathing,” Hopkins said.
For big events like the Preakness, it might prove difficult to alter restrictions quickly because they were the results of months of planning.
Last year, the middle jewel of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown was held before empty grandstands. Despite Hogan lifting the mask mandates, Preakness officials decided to stick to the rules they had previously announced: Masks were required for admission and in all indoor areas of the venue. They kept the strict capacity limit they had set for the event — capping attendance at 10,000, when pre-pandemic crowds topped 130,000.
On a sun-drenched afternoon, few of the fans who came were grousing.
“It’s definitely weird,” said Olivia Tuck, 20, of Towson, who took in the action from one of the socially distanced seating “pods” set up in the infield. “It isn’t exactly what it was. But if this is what we get, I’m totally happy about it!”
Though District officials have not yet lifted the city’s mask mandate, visitors to the Mall said the ability to come to one of the city’s landmark museums felt like a major step back toward normalcy.
Maria Lopez, 65, beamed with excitement — from behind her surgical mask — while walking out of the National Portrait Gallery, which she would visit often before the pandemic.
“It was nice just to go back in there after so many months,” said Lopez, whose recreation during the pandemic has mainly been in the form of walks around her D.C. neighborhood. “Everything is like a ghost town. It’s been really sad.”
But, while waiting to receive her second vaccine dose in two weeks, Lopez said she is okay with the fact that the District’s mandate is still in place.
Inside the museum, she said, she was nervous about being around so many people, veering away from clustered groups of people while perusing an exhibition of Chicano artists.
“I still have to be careful,” Lopez said. “It’s our responsibility as individuals to see if there are too many people, and then be careful. We’ve been through so much, we should know better.”
For people with children, the calculations remain tricky. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has now been authorized for those as young as 12, but shots for smaller children are still months away. At the same time, the risks the virus presents to the youngest children appear to be low.
Erik Olson bounced his daughter on a seesaw at the Bethesda park, both of them wearing masks. Olson, 42, said he’s vaccinated and knows about the CDC guidance, but he said wearing a mask was the right thing to do, “via social convention.”
Olson is a lobbyist and said he expects to soon be able to return to his office, which he’s looking forward to, but will continue to take precautions.
“Until the kids are vaccinated, I think we’ll be doing the things we’ve been doing,” he said.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) also lifted the state’s mask mandate Friday. But the in-between sentiment was clear along Alexandria’s waterfront near Old Town. Some people kept their masks on while some basked barefaced in the morning sun. Others still kept their masks dangling beneath their chins, ready to put them back on if the situation called for it.
Susan and James Blackman walked along the waterfront with their faces exposed, a still new sensation after more than a year of never leaving their home without a mask in hand.
“We believe this is the result of scientific study,” said Susan Blackman, referring to both the CDC’s new guidelines and the end of Virginia’s mask mandate for the vaccinated. The couple got their vaccines earlier in the spring, but only last week decided it was okay to venture outside without a mask.
“We’re good with it,” she said, as a group of restaurant workers walked past with their masks fully intact while a young family laughed together without any masks. “We hope to God that in two weeks we don’t find out that it’s not right. But it certainly feels nice to see everybody’s faces, and it’s nice to be able to smile.”
Even within family groups, different ideas about what was best were on display. Maureen Devine-Ahl and her 10-year-old daughter both wore masks, while her husband didn’t.
“It’s partly out of habit,” Devine-Ahl said, about her mask. “But it’s also out of solidarity for others. I don’t know. It’s going to take some getting used to.”
Nathan Byrnes also wore his mask while playing at a nearby fountain with his 17-month-old daughter, Sophia, while the girl’s mother, Debora, did not have one on. He was wearing his out of courtesy for others and said he didn’t know about the change in state rules.
For Weymouth Spence, wearing a mask serves as an outward sign that the pandemic is still going on. The 36-year-old wore a surgical mask, something he has continued to do despite being vaccinated in April, which he said can sometimes lead to awkward moments with friends who’ve since moved past mask-wearing.
Spence said he believes it’s too soon for Virginia to lift its mask mandate. But he also just wants to get past the politics of mask-wearing, he said.
“I think we need to move forward just so we can gain normalcy and some unity on some front,” he said.
Liz Clarke contributed to this report.
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Mask-free freedom comes to Washington region. But politeness, local rules keep some faces covered. - The Washington Post
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