Opinion: Termination of Emergency Mandates Leaves Vulnerable Populations at Risk

On June 15, Gov. Larry Hogan announced that Maryland’s coronavirus state of emergency would end today, July 1. This will effectively terminate all emergency mandates and restrictions, including mask orders. Although the number of COVID cases has dropped, this still leaves many unvaccinated and vulnerable populations at risk. That day, the Baltimore City health commissioner said, “I’m aware that many will view this as the end of the pandemic. However, I want to be clear, while we have made significant progress as evidenced by our COVID-19 metrics, the public health threat of coronavirus remains high for our unvaccinated population specifically.”