D.C. to drop indoor mask and vaccine mandate

D.C. will drop its indoor vaccine and mask mandates in the coming weeks, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday.

Driving the news: The indoor vaccine mandate, required of restaurants, gyms, and concert venues, will be lifted on Feb. 15, the same day D.C. originally had required people to be fully vaccinated to meet the mandate. The city was the only place to impose such a mandate in the region.

The mask mandate will be lifted on March 1, but masks will still be required in some places, including schools, congregate settings, nursing facilities, childcare facilities and libraries. Bowser said a decision on lifting mask mandates in schools isn't likely to come anytime soon as vaccines aren't yet available for young children. Pfizer, which is developing a vaccine for children under the age of five, delayed asking for FDA authorization last week.