Maryland will end a state of emergency for COVID-19 on July 1, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday.
The governor made the announcement at a news conference one year, three months and 10 days after Maryland confirmed its first cases of the coronavirus.
�Masks or face coverings will not be required in any settings anywhere, including schools, camps and child care facilities,� Hogan said. �Businesses and other workplaces are obviously still able to set their own policies, and we�ll support their ability to do so, but there will not be any legal mandate from the state for wearing masks at any location anywhere in the state.�
Hogan, a Republican, also said July 1 will be the start of a 45-day grace period through Aug. 15, �where certain regulations will continue to be relaxed to help people complete the transition out of the pandemic.�
The governor said Maryland is granting an additional extension of the state�s moratorium on evictions related to COVID-19 through Aug. 15. Health officials will have a 45-day period to transition from emergency operations. Residents will have 45 days to renew expired driver�s licenses.
While Hogan said the milestone was a significant step in recovery from the pandemic, he emphasized that �it�s not mission accomplished� and that �the battle�s not over.�
�If you have been vaccinated, you are safe, but those who have not gotten vaccinated will continue to be at risk,� Hogan said.
The governor made the announcement as health metrics continue to improve in the state. In January, hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Maryland nearly reached, 2,000, but on Tuesday they were below 200 � the lowest since March of 2020.
�Every day now, we are seeing amazing declines in all of our health metrics across the board and across the state,� Hogan said.
Maryland has now administered more than 6.5 million vaccines, Hogan said, and the state exceeded its goal of 70% of all adults vaccinated by Memorial Day. More than 72% of residents 18 and over have been vaccinated, Hogan said, as well as nearly 90% of all residents over age of 65.
�We�re already having in our discussions talk about how our existing infrastructure is going to help us with booster shots, if they�re necessary, in the fall, and our flu vaccine effort, which is going to be more critical than ever,� Hogan said.
Maryland reported on Tuesday that 9,472 people have died from COVID-19 in the state during the pandemic.
(AP)
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Gov. Larry Hogan needs to focus on the horrendous # of shootings in Baltimore which is sickening beyond belief and stop wasting time touting himself about his successes in low Corona #’s, which in fact has nothing to do with him, but is solely because of President Donald Trump who brought the vaccinations with warp speed.