In the face of rising numbers of COVID-19 cases, Gov. Larry Hogan took a moment at the beginning of Wednesday’s Board of Public Works meeting to push vaccines for anyone who has not gotten one.
Hogan made no mention of masks, however, despite an announcement Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that certain vaccinated people should resume wearing masks, and despite warnings this week from Baltimore officials that, if cases continue to climb, the city may reinstitute a mask mandate.
“No new statewide mask mandates are being contemplated,” Mike Ricci, a spokesman for Hogan, wrote in an email Wednesday.
The Maryland Department of Health reported 416 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, the most since May 22.
Still, the state fares better than most, Hogan said Wednesday, highlighting that the state’s positivity rate, 2.45%, is among the nation’s lowest.
The vast majority of the people infected with COVID-19 in Maryland were unvaccinated, the governor said.
“Only 0.07% of our entire vaccinated population has gotten an infection with the virus,” Hogan said. “Getting vaccinated is truly the only way to protect yourself, your family and your community.”