D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is reinforcing a mask mandate indoors regardless of vaccination status. (Courtesy Photo)
#AFROCoronavirusUpdate
By Micha Green
D.C. and Digital Editor
mgreen@afro.com
On Thursday, July 29, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the mask mandate would be reinstated after COVID-19 cases began rising in the nation’s capital and nationwide, with, before the weekend, just shy of 800 new cases in one day.
Regardless of vaccination status, effective on July 31, 2021 at 5 a.m., all people were required to begin wearing masks inside businesses.
The Mayor took to Twitter to announce the mask reinstatement, posting a photo saying #MaskUpDC, with the caption, “Let’s stay in this together, DC. By masking up, we can protect our community and keep DC open.”
“I know that D.C. residents have been very closely following the public health guidelines, and they will embrace this,” Bowser said on Thursday at a press conference. “We will continue to do what is necessary to keep D.C. safe.”
Some people felt the Mayor’s decision, following the CDC’s recommendations, as the best decision for keeping people safe and healthy. “This was the right call – thank you,” one person wrote.
However, some people are calling the mayor out for hypocrisy in being photographed at an indoor event maskless after the mandate was announced- though the event was from the day before the mask rule was effective.
The picture features some of D.C. ‘s who’s who, including the Deputy Mayor for Economic Planning and Development John Falcicchio, Bowser and comedian Dave Chappelle.
This reporter was at a Dave Chappelle documentary screening at the Kennedy Center on Sunday, Aug. 1, and the comedian emphasized the Mayor’s mask orders, mentioning the importance of protection from the virus and following the rules, while also giving complimentary masks in the lobby before the performance.
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