Just minutes after Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Thursday that masks will again be required in all indoor places in the district beginning Saturday, regardless of coronavirus vaccination status, the blowback was swift.
“Things have changed throughout the course of [the pandemic], and we have to adapt too,” Bowser said while announcing the new mandate. “I think it won’t be a big lift for a lot of folks.”
But several critics immediately voiced their displeasure with the announcement online.
The Washington Post reported Thursday the district’s new daily case rate, now about 8 per 100,000, is far lower than what it was during the worst of the pandemic.
Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidance, suggesting that many Americans wear masks again in areas deemed at high risk of spreading the virus, including among vaccinated individuals.
The CDC has been criticized by some outside public health experts as giving confusing guidance, given that many Americans don’t know if they are in an area classified as high risk for transmission of the contagious delta variant.
Some also criticized Bowser for not announcing vaccine requirements for people in the district, opting instead to create a blanket policy for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.