With the Feb. 28 lifting of masking requirements for most indoor spaces in Prince George’s County, Maryland and the March 1 lifting of similar requirements in the District of Columbia, Mass-goers in all jurisdictions that comprise The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington are no longer required to wear a mask in church.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington includes the District of Columbia and five Maryland counties: Montgomery, Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s. Each jurisdiction determines its own masking mandates

In both Prince George’s County and the District, masks are no longer required for most indoor settings, but are still required in public schools and on public transportation. In addition, the District requires masks for visitors to libraries, childcare and healthcare facilities and government facilities that have direct contact between employees and the public.

Last week, Montgomery County expired its masking mandate for most indoor places. Earlier in the month, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s Counties lifted their masking mandates. Now, masks are no longer required at churches, grocery stores, restaurants and bars and sports and entertainment venues throughout the archdiocese.

“The District of Columbia and Prince George’s County have now lifted their mask mandates for most indoor settings,” Father Daniel B. Carson, the archdiocesan Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia, announced in a Feb. 28 letter emailed to all priests of the archdiocese. He noted that “masks will no longer be required in any indoor setting in any area jurisdiction (of the archdiocese), with the exception of schools and childcare facilities in the District of Columbia, as well as other venues there unrelated to parish functions.”

He also pointed out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classified as “low” the COVID-19 Community Level for the District and the five Maryland counties that are part of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

The CDC’s COVID-19 Community Level is determined by analyzing hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in a particular area and classifying coronavirus transmission in that area as either a low, moderate or high level. For low community levels the CDC says “people may choose to mask at any time. People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.”

Father Carson said Mass-goers should “wear a mask based on your personal preference, informed by your personal level of risk.”

He also said in his letter that due to “due to the plummeting caseloads as well as the high vaccination rates” in all jurisdictions of the archdiocese, “the use of masks by ordinary and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion will continue to be optional and no longer required during the distribution” of the Eucharist.

In his letter, Father Carson told pastors that as they make their decisions on whether or not to use masks during the distribution of the Eucharist, they should “be sensitive to the needs of the parishioners, deacons, and other ministers to understand that some recipients of Holy Communion may feel more comfortable if ministers wear a mask during distribution.”

Meanwhile, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington on Feb. 21 lifted the masking requirement for students, staff and visitors to Catholic schools located in the five Maryland counties that comprise part of the archdiocese. However, the masking requirement for Catholic schools in the District of Columbia remains in place, per the directive issued by the D.C. government.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 65 percent of all Americans are fully vaccinated and the nationwide daily average number of reported new cases of COVID-19 has dropped by 59 percent. In the District of Columbia, 72 percent of all residents are fully vaccinated and the daily average number of new cases of COVID-19 has dropped by 46 percent. In Maryland, 74 percent of all residents are fully vaccinated and the daily average number of new cases of COVID-19 has dropped by 33 percent.