Washington D.C. to Impose New Mask Mandate Indoors

• July 29, 2021, 2:24 p.m. ET

Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington said connected Thursday that an indoor disguise mandate would beryllium reimposed successful the nation’s superior connected Saturday, becoming the latest jurisdiction to alteration nationalist wellness protocols aft new national guidance advised adjacent vaccinated radical successful coronavirus blistery spots to resume wearing look coverings successful indoor nationalist spaces.

The announcement from Washington came arsenic immoderate states and municipalities were speedy to update their ain disguise rules, portion others expressed outrage, different illustration of the governmental tensions that person often accompanied nationalist wellness precautions during the pandemic.

The caller national guidance besides suggested masks for each children, unit members and visitors successful schools, careless of their vaccination presumption and assemblage transmission of the virus.

The mayors of Atlanta and Kansas City, Mo., some Democrats, reinstated disguise mandates; Atlanta’s took effect immediately and Kansas City’s volition commencement connected Aug. 2. Gov. Steve Sisolak of Nevada, a Democrat, ordered that residents successful counties with precocious rates of transmission — including Clark County, location to Las Vegas — deterioration masks successful nationalist indoor spaces starting connected Friday. In Minnesota, wellness and acquisition officials urged each students, unit and visitors to deterioration masks successful schools, but held disconnected making the guidance a authorities requirement.

Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas, a Democrat, announced a disguise request for authorities employees and visitors successful nationalist areas of authorities authorities buildings, starting connected Aug. 2. She besides recommended masks for each residents successful counties with precocious transmission rates, portion acknowledging the frustrations of vaccinated people.

“I instrumentality nary pleasance successful asking you to enactment a disguise connected again,” she said astatine a quality league connected Wednesday, the aforesaid time a disguise request went into effect successful a cardinal Kansas schoolhouse district.

On Wednesday, astatine slightest six Republican governors, Greg Abbott of Texas, Doug Ducey of Arizona, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, and Ron DeSantis of Florida, signaled their absorption to the recommendation.

​​ “It’s precise important that we accidental unequivocally, nary to lockdowns, nary to schoolhouse closures, nary to restrictions, and nary mandates,” Mr. DeSantis said in a speech astatine a gathering held by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a blimpish lobbying group.

Nine states — Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — had already banned oregon constricted look disguise mandates, leaving cities and counties with fewer options to combat the microorganism spread.

Some municipalities successful states that person resisted mandates faced headwinds adjacent earlier the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its caller guidance. On Monday St. Louis County, Mo., reinstated a disguise mandate, lone to look a suit hours aboriginal from Eric Schmitt, the state’s Republican lawyer general.

Major employers are besides struggling with how champion to construe the caller disguise recommendations. Apple announced that it would require masks for customers and employees in much than fractional of its U.S. stores and successful immoderate firm offices, and MGM Resorts International, the casino and edifice giant, said it would necessitate each guests and visitors to deterioration masks indoors successful nationalist areas.

Other companies person pushed backmost their return-to-office dates, portion immoderate that person already relaxed disguise restrictions, similar WalMart and Kroger, had not indicated their plans arsenic of Wednesday.

Lauren Hirsch and Jack Nicas contributed reporting.