Hogan calls for end to statewide school mask mandate

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Thursday called on the Board of Education to lift the statewide school mask mandate.

In a letter to Clarence Crawford, the board’s president, Hogan cited falling numbers of coronavirus cases and the state’s relatively high vaccination rate of school-age children.

“A growing number of medical professionals, parents, and bipartisan state officials throughout the nation are calling for an end to school mask requirements,” Hogan wrote. “In light of dramatic improvements to our health metrics and the widespread availability of vaccines, I am calling on you to take action to rescind this policy.”

Maryland does not have an indoor mask mandate except in schools, but individual county governments can make their own rules.

Hogan praised Crawford for focusing on in-person schooling, and said rescinding the mask mandate would be an important “move toward normalcy for students and families.”  

Hogan’s letter comes the same day he announced COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped below 1,000. Overall, hospitalizations have dropped by 71 percent since peaking last month just below 3,500. 

“We must all learn to live with this virus, not in fear of it,” Hogan wrote.

Mask mandates are some of the last remaining COVID-19 restrictions in states. As infections fall, an increasing number of states have begun announcing plans to lift the requirements, whether in schools or indoor public locations.

While cases are falling nationwide, there are still more than 200,000 infections and 2,500 deaths on average every day for the past week. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky this week said it was too soon to lift mask mandates, especially in schools, and that her agency continued to advise universal masking.