Washington, D.C., Tucson Among Latest U.S. Cities to Reissue Mask Requirements

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Washington, DC, and Tucson, Arizona are among the most recent cities to reintroduce the mask mandate regardless of vaccination status, the Associated Press reported.

“I know the DC residents have followed and will adopt the public health guidelines very closely. We will continue to do this to ensure the safety of DC, ”said DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The new rules will begin on Saturday for residents of DC, while those of Tucson will go into effect on Thursday.

Coronavirus cases are on the rise as the Delta variant makes its way across the country, prompting cities to reintroduce their mask requirement. There are also cities in New York and Nevada that again require masks whether or not someone has been vaccinated.

A decision has not yet been made whether or when a booster vaccination will be needed. However, the Food and Drug Administration as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that fully vaccinated Americans currently don’t need a booster vaccination, according to Reuters.

More coverage from the Associated Press can be found below.

Washington, DC and several Arizona cities are reintroducing mask requirements regardless of a person’s vaccination status. Above, Fin Gomez, a journalist with CBS News and a board member of the White House Correspondents Association, replaces signs for wearing masks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on July 27, 2021.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

The move was expected given local infection numbers and the CDC’s new guidance that now vaccinated people were encouraging people to wear masks indoors in areas with “significant community transmission”. These include the District of Columbia and the neighboring parishes of Alexandria and Loudon, Virginia.

The district’s public health emergency expired this week, but a general public state of emergency remains in place. Bowser says the only exception to the new rules is when people “actively eat and drink”.

DC’s Director of Health, Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt says there will be another surge in vaccination because vaccination “continues to prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death”.

Several major Arizona cities are reintroducing mask requirements for people in city-owned facilities in response to new CDC guidelines to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said she directed the city manager on Wednesday to require masks in city facilities regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status.

The mandates announced by Phoenix, Peoria and Tempe also apply regardless of whether people are vaccinated or not.

Peoria’s requirement went into effect on Thursday while Tempe’s mandate came into effect on Friday, excluding children under 6.

A similar requirement ordered by the Phoenix city director for all city facilities goes into effect Monday, the city said in a statement.

Most of Arizona, including the Phoenix and Tucson areas, is reaching the threshold of significant community penetration.

Several cities including Washington, DC and Tucson, Arizona are among the newest to reintroduce mask requirements regardless of vaccination status. Above, a Los Angeles vendor displays masks for sale on March 20, 2020.
Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press

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