WASHINGTON — Masks will be required indoors in D.C. until at least Feb. 28.
The news comes Wednesday after Mayor Muriel Bowser signed orders to extend the District's mask mandate as well as its public health emergency.
Bowser's limited public health emergency order that was authorized Jan. 11 has now been extended until 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 15.
A public health emergency allows the District to authorize certain powers related to hospitals, healthcare workers and mortuary services.
The mayor's order notes that throughout the month of January stress on hospitals and healthcare workers has increased significantly a surge of COVID-19 cases related to the omicron variant.
"Although the surge of infections relating to the omicron variant appears to be abating, the stress on hospitals and medical providers and facilities continues," the order reads. "Hospitalization and deaths lag infections, so the District is facing increases in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, increased ventilator use by persons with COVID-19, and more deaths than the District experienced at the beginning of January."
While many COVID-19 infections do not result in hospitalizations, the order notes that the healthcare industry is strained by labor shortages of workers who, themselves, are quarantined with the virus. There's also a larger demand of individuals going to emergency rooms seeking COVID tests, which creates a challenge for responding to other medical emergencies.
D.C. Health Department's COVID-19 data Wednesday shows that in the last 24 hours, the District has confirmed 369 new positive cases, there are two new deaths and no new hospitalizations.