Washington D.C. Announces Mask Mandate Changes, But Not For Schools

The cascading wave of COVID mask mandate rule changes has swept into Washington D.C. where Mayor Muriel Bowser isn't ready to include kids in her big changes. Bowser announced Monday that the city's indoor mask mandate -- including bars and restaurants -- will expire February 28.

While there's euphoria over that news, Bowser isn't completely ready to loosen her grip on the COVID era. Schoolchildren will still be required to mask up.

"Because of that diligence that we have seen since the height of omicron wave entered the district in December, cases have dropped more than 90% and there has been a 95% reduction in hospitalizations," Bowser said during a press conference. "We are in a much better place now."

But what about the schools where kids are still wearing whatever their parents come up with? In January, the Washington Post reported that KN95 masks were distributed to D.C. schools, but the masks went to teachers and staff. Kids were left out.

One teacher who received a KN95 mask told the Post that she planned to do fundraising to get KN95 masks for her students.

"We continue to work with our school communities over what they think it will take to keep kids safe and in school," Bowser said Monday. "We thought that our last group of little ones would have access to the vaccine in February. It turns out it's going to be sometime later. So I don't think that we're going to have a decision about schools sometime soon."