Maryland county mandates masks for kids 2 to 5

A Maryland county on Wednesday mandated masks for children ages two to five.

Prince George’s County said children ages two to five must wear masks indoors if they are not eating or drinking. 

Anthony McAuliffe, a spokesman for the county executive, said the goal is to protect children who are not yet eligible for the coronavirus vaccine and are not going to be in the foreseeable future, The Washington Post reported. 

The county’s COVID-19 dashboard shows that only one child under the age of 10 has died from the virus in the county, while more than 6,500 children have caught the virus.

There have been a total of more than 97,000 cases with more than 1,600 deaths in the area.

“As a parent, I understand that it is not easy to mask younger children, but we are really doing this based on data that we have and out of grave concern for our children,” said County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D), according to the Post. 

In the executive order, the county recognizes how difficult it can be to get children that young to wear masks for long periods of time, and said it should really become a priority when social distancing cannot be maintained. 

There are exemptions for a child with a disability.

The county saw 788 new cases between Sept. 26 to Oct. 2, a 25.4 percent drop from the previous week.

The new guidance for the county matches the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that everyone above the age of two wear a mask.