D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued an executive order Wednesday extending the limited public health emergency in the District until Feb. 15 and the indoor mask mandate until the end of February.
In the order, Bowser said that while cases linked to the omicron variant appear to be dropping in D.C., the impact on hospitals, medical providers and facilities is ongoing.
The limited health emergency was scheduled to expire Wednesday.
“Hospitalization and deaths lag infections, so the District is facing increases in
hospitalized patients with COVID-19, increased ventilator use by persons with
COVID-19, and more deaths than the District experienced at the beginning of
January,” the mayor’s order says.
The indoor mask mandate, which was set to expire Jan. 31, has been extended until Feb. 28.
“Given the very high (though falling) daily case rate of 51.3 cases per 100,000
persons, the indoor masking requirements established by Mayor’s Order 2021-14 7,
dated December 20, 2021, continue to be necessary,” the order said.
In declaring the previous extension to the public health emergency, Bowser said the order allowed the District health department “to modify procedures, deadlines, and standards authorized during the declared emergency. By declaring a public health emergency, the District and healthcare partners can continue to respond expeditiously and safely to COVID-19 and its ongoing and changing impacts.”
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