D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Monday she is dropping the city’s requirement that people show proof of coronavirus vaccination before entering many businesses in the city, as coronavirus transmission continues to trend downward throughout the region.

       The District’s requirement for residents to show proof of vaccination to enter most businesses — announced in December — will cease Tuesday, Bowser said. She also said she’s allowing the city’s mandate to wear masks in all indoor public spaces to be lifted starting March 1. Bowser had rescinded the indoor masking mandate in November before the surging omicron variant spurred her to bring it back.

       Masks will still be required in some congregate settings, like schools, public transit and emergency shelters, Bowser said.

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       Bowser’s decision to end the mandates comes amid mounting economic and political pressure on the region’s leaders to loosen pandemic restrictions; a slew of other states and cities relaxed indoor or in-school mask rules last week. As city officials have mulled how to balance residents’ safety with the desire to return to normalcy, Bowser, who is running this year for a third term in office, has repeatedly said the city would enact and ease restrictions depending on the course of the virus.

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       The District’s weekly coronavirus case rate per 100,000 residents was about 253 on Friday; it was about 1,300 per 100,000 residents just before Christmas when Bowser first announced the vaccine requirement. D.C., along with every other state in the country, is still in what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines as “high” transmission — or a weekly case rate above 100.

       Neighboring jurisdictions also are cutting back on pandemic restrictions. Masks will no longer be required in Maryland state buildings starting next week, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Monday. Hogan said the state’s health metrics warranted the change, noting hospitalizations have declined by 78 percent from last month’s peak.

       Despite the rapid drop in new cases, a lot of virus is still circulating in the region. Maryland remains in high transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with a seven-day average of 128.8 new cases per 100,000 residents.

       The move follows Hogan’s advocacy last week pressing school officials to drop classroom mask mandates.

       Erin Cox contributed to this report.