Anne Arundel County Ends Pandemic Emergency Order As Vaccination Rates Grow
Glen Burnie, Md. (WJZ) -- The Anne Arundel County Council voted to end its original emergency order which has been in effect since the early days of the pandemic. On Tuesday, County health officials said 70% of all adults received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine and that hospitalizations are at their lowest point since March 2020.
"This is what success looks like and we need to keep pushing for that," said Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman with the Anne Arundel County Health Department.
However, the Health Department said it would like to see higher vaccination rates among 18-24-year-olds.
Capacity limits have been lifted in Anne Arundel County. It is now up to individual business owners to decide whether or not to require masks indoors.
"It's fantastic to be out and working again, actually getting out of the house. This is what I do this for," said Pavel Semenyuk, the manager of Irena's Crepes Café in Glen Burnie.
Anne Arundel County leaders also extended outdoor dining permits for its restaurants through the fall.
In Baltimore City, the Health Department said Tuesday that 55.9% of adults received at least one dose of the vaccine. But it needs to reach 65% before it lifts the indoor mask mandate.
Health officials caution that if you are not yet vaccinated, that it would be important to continue wearing a mask in public, as a way to prevent a fall surge.
"We still need to be mindful and still need to be careful even though the restrictions are lifted, not everyone is fully vaccinated yet," said Victoria Thomas from Glen Burnie.
