MOCO Officials Urge Masking, Caution As COVID-19 Cases Rise

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — After an increase in COVID-19 cases in Montgomery County, officials are urging residents to be cautious.

There have been about 319.7 cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days, according to the county's health data dashboard. The county is in the "medium" range of spread.

At the beginning of May, there were 181.4 cases per 100,000 in the previous seven days, according to the dashboard.On March 15, the county's most recent low point for case counts, there were 32.17 cases reported per 100,000 people over the prior seven days.

“Our current surge in cases is lasting longer than expected, which leaves more people at-risk of being exposed to COVID-19,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “I encourage everyone to wear masks indoors in public spaces when possible as well as continue to use our ample testing and vaccination resources we have in the County. I know we are all tired of this virus, but the virus is not tired of us. If we keep doing our individual parts, as a community, we can tamp down this increase in the case rate and avoid going back to days of more restrictive measures.”

The county gave the following advice to protect against the spread:

• use of a well-fitting face covering during visits to congregate places and indoor spaces with limited social distancing
• use of testing and test-to-treat antiviral medication after returning from travel or gatherings
• staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including booster-shots

"Even with the end of the indoor mask mandate in February, County health officials continued to strongly encourage the use of masks indoors as a method to reduce the risk of transmission," the county said in the news release. "Businesses and other organizations can continue to require customers or visitors to wear a mask in their establishments."