D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Reinstitutes Indoor Mask Mandate Amid COVID Case Surge, Omicron

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser started the week by announcing that as of 6 a.m. on Tuesday the city would once again implement its indoor mask mandate after having lifted the requirement just one month ago.

The policy change comes amid ongoing concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 into D.C. and the surrounding Virginia and Maryland areas. Over the past 14 days, the nation's capital has seen its rate of newly reported cases jump by 252 percent, according to The New York Times COVID tracker.

Last week, the district confirmed four cases of COVID-19 tied to the Omicron variant. Three of the cases were tied to individuals who traveled out of the district for Thanksgiving. The other case was linked to a fully vaccinated adult who was not known to have traveled out of the area.

"We all expected that, if it was in the United States, it would show up at some point in the district," Bowser said last week, according to NBC 4 Washington. "D.C. Health has been aggressive in sequencing our positive cases to identify any variant changes in the district. The Delta continues to be the prominent variant in the district."

The Washington Post writes that Bowser's decision came as 10 of 13 members of the D.C. Council called on her to reimplement the mandate shortly after it was lifted. The paper reports that the council members argued the decision to lift the mandate was "poorly-timed" ahead of the winter holidays.

Bowser said the order would remain in place until January 31. She also said that the district's public schools would remain closed on January 3 and January 4 in order for staff and their families to test themselves for the virus with rapid antigen tests.

In addition to implementing this mandate, Bowser also announced a vaccination mandate for the city's roughly 37,000 government workers. This order includes a booster requirement. In August, Bowser implemented this mandate but said that workers could avoid vaccination by submitting to regular testing. This will no longer be an option.

In September, she made a similar order directed at adults regularly working in schools and child care centers facilities that did away with the testing option.

"We know that vaccinations are the most effective tool to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect children who are not yet eligible to receive the vaccine," Bowser said at the time of the announcement. "This new mandate requirement, without a test-out option, will add another critical layer to the robust measures we have implemented to reopen our schools and keep our child care centers safe.