Mask Mandate Decision Made For Anne Arundel Medical Center Patients, Staff

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Luminis Health, a Maryland hospital system, lifted its mask mandate on Tuesday.

This applies to every Luminis Health facility, including the Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Doctors Community Medical Center in Lanham and all of their affiliated outposts.

Patients, visitors and staff are no longer required to wear face coverings. Masks remain optional for anybody who prefers to wear them.

Patients can also request their care team to mask up. The hospital will still ask patients with respiratory symptoms to wear a face covering. Visitors are still encouraged to avoid the hospital when ill. Handwashing and sanitizing will still be required for employees.

The mask mandate had been in place since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit Maryland in March 2020.

Luminis Health said it has given more than 125,000 COVID-19 vaccines since the shot became available in late 2020.

Jean Murray, system director of infection prevention and control, said Luminis Health is now "shifting to an endemic recovery response."

"With high vaccination rates and a major reduction in community transmission, we are no longer seeing a significant number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19," Murray said in a press release. "With the reduced risk to the community and hospitals, and the pending end of the federal public health emergency in May, our Incident Command Team feels it's appropriate to lift the universal mask requirement."

Anne Arundel lifted its countywide mask mandate at the end of January 2022 after a court battle failed to cancel it sooner. The face covering requirements were lifted in county government buildings and Anne Arundel County Public Schools the following month.

The Centers for Disease and Prevention still mandated masks for medical facilities, however.

The CDC revoked that face covering requirement in September 2022. Medical facilities no longer need mask mandates unless they are in areas with high community transmission of COVID-19, The Hill reported.

Anne Arundel County currently has moderate transmission, the CDC said.

Maryland's COVID-19 data is available at coronavirus.maryland.gov. Anne Arundel County's metrics are updated at aahealth.org/covid19data.

University Of Maryland Medical System Masking

The University of Maryland Medical System, including the Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, has similar requirements.

At University of Maryland hospitals, masks are not required in public areas like waiting rooms and hallways.

Face coverings are encouraged, but not required, for patients in patient care areas. Visitors in patient rooms should use face coverings except when eating or sleeping. Staff will still continue masking in patient care areas.

Patients with COVID-like symptoms are still asked to mask up. Hospital staff will also gladly wear a face covering whenever interacting with somebody who asks them to put one on.

The latest mask guidelines for the University of Maryland Medical System are posted here.