Many Massachusetts Schools Return From February Break With No Mask Mandate She suggested the Board of Health review the citys COVID-19 case data at its next meeting to determine wether to recommend altering the mandate or keeping it as is. Please limit your input to 500 characters. Anthony Brooks Twitter Senior Political ReporterAnthony Brooks is WBUR's senior political reporter. Im prepared to be an outlier. Billerica: Employees of the town will be required to wear masks while moving throughout the building. Thank you for your website feedback! Please remove any contact information or personal data from your feedback. Abby Patkin is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. Its not as though I dont have COVID fatigue, like millions of other Americans. Why N95, KN95 masks are so much more effective than cloth, Framingham Mayor Charlie Sisitsky announces indoor mask mandate, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. WORCESTER, MA This was a big week for masks in Massachusetts. After all, higher quality options such as N95, KN95 and three-ply surgical masks have been shown to offer wearers greater protection against even the highly contagious omicron variant, according to USA TODAY. We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. In Salem, which is right next door to Beverly, the mask mandate is in placeuntil March 8. Why are so many communities dropping their restrictions now? I know the restauranteurs said the vax proof mandate drove away customers, but the restaurants I visited were full. Dont expect those rules to go anywhere anytime soonyou may not want to relax your policy of stuffing spare masks into coat pockets. If you're a human and see this, please ignore it. But overall, I think it will mean a little bump in sales.". He described the latest case surge as a health emergency in our city.. "If youre going to get your coffee or going to the gym to work out, you dont need your mask. Staff, patients, vendors, and visitors must all wear masks at the following sites: hospitals, emergency medical services, primary care and urgent care settings. oncology, rheumatology, immunology). The feedback will only be used for improving the website. In many cases, the requirement is limited to municipal buildings. The state Department of Public Health issued a mask advisory on Dec. 21 recommending but not requiring the use of face coverings indoors in public.
How Mask Policies Have Changed In MA Towns, Cities - Yahoo News Learn about mask recommendations and requirements in Massachusetts. ( WWLP) - Cities and towns across the state have re-implementing mask mandates as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has overtaken the Delta variant as the most dominant strain in the country.. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Chan School of Public Health. A .mass.gov website belongs to an official government organization in Massachusetts. Struggling to keep up with the state of play? And what about vaccine requirements elsewhere? "Things are looking good, but we're clearly not out of the woods," noted Wildes. The deadline has previously been pushed back, after the mandate was issued in August. BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) With COVID-19 rates in Massachusetts on the decline, some cities and towns are looking to adjust their safety protocols. Protests outside Boston mayor's house spark debate, Mass.
Masks no longer mandated in these 42 Massachusetts schools As COVID-19 cases spike once more, local health officials are putting increased emphasis on face coverings among the top tools for slowing the virus spread. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Data from the Department of Public Health on Friday revealed that 5,218,681 Massachusetts residents have been fully vaccinated against the virus. Only staff and vendors must wear masks at the following sites: adult day health programs, dental offices, speech, occupational and physical therapy settings and other freestanding medical/clinical settings that do not primarily care for patients with acute illness or immunocompromised patients. But this could all change: according to Mayor Michelle Wu, based on the latest data, the vaccine requirements could be lifted very soon. You skipped the table of contents section. Charlie Bakers recent decision to lift the mask mandate. As of February 8, 42 of them were allowed to drop their mandates under a state program that allowed schools to qualify for an exemption. And hoping for stronger evidence that we have definitively turned the pandemic corner. Town of Essex, MA Essex Town Hall 30 Martin Street Essex, MA 01929. Virginia. Administrator Reports; Beach Water Quality Information; Coronavirus (COVID-19) & Pandemic Information; Emergency Preparedness. Boston: Masks mandatory in all indoor public places, Brookline: Face masks required in all indoor spaces, including businesses, restaurants, clubs, places of assembly, municipal buildings and other locations open to the general public, Cambridge:Masks required in all indoor public spaces for everyone over 2 years old, Canton: Masks required in indoor public spaces when community transmission level is substantial or high, Carlisle: Face masks must be worn indoors in public spaces, Lexington: Masks required for people ages two and older at indoor businesses, houses of worship, and private spaces.
Mask mandate in Massachusetts communities - wwlp.com ), COVID mask guide:Why N95, KN95 masks are so much more effective than cloth, Last Tuesday, Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders told state legislators that Gov. In late August, the state announced it will require masks in public schools for students over age 4 and all staffers, regardless of vaccination status, until at least Oct. 1. Several cities and towns around Massachusetts are beginning to lift their respective indoor mask mandates. The BOH had declined to officially recommend a mandate just a few days prior, though both sitting members had said they would be in favor of one. They are still required in city buildings. Yet while some states, including California and New York, require most people to wear masks indoors in public places, Massachusetts has held out. The same release said 41% of eligible city residents have received a booster shot, which was up two percent from the week prior. Mayor Wu, for one, is keeping BPS mask mandate for now. Photo by Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images. Some places, like Medford, Malden, and Melrose, require masks only in municipal buildings. The CDC recommends that you wear the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you can wear for as long as you need it. An official website of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, This page, Mask Recommendations and Requirements, is. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has a mask mandate that runs through the end of February. Meanwhile, lots of other cities and towns still require masks, though policies are changing almost daily. Private parochial schools in Boston have said they will not keep mask mandates in place past that date. No doubt full of cautious customers like me drawn by the extra precaution.
It will be up to each business to decide whether to require masks. Keeping to small circles in which I can feel safer. Others only require masks in public buildings. "Probably at least until the spring," she said. reporter: plymouth rescinded the indoor mask mandate except for town offices. Your best bet is probably to still make sure youve got a photo of your vax card handy when going out and about in the Boston area, even if the town youre in doesnt have an explicit vax mandate policy.
Here's what to know about the new mask guidance in Mass. Top-requested sites to log in to services provided by the state. by: Melissa Torres. Dropping the mask mandate on the day they return from a week off seems especially risky. In MetroWest, some cities and towns have mask mandates, some have advisories and some have no local policy at all. Wearing a mask provides protection against COVID and other viruses, especially when indoors or in crowded spaces. "I like not having to remind people, so that's nice," she said. The owner of City Eats on Cabot Street was ecstatic to openThursday morningwith the mandate no longer in place. If you need assistance, please contact the Department of Public Health. Boston still requires them for all public indoor spaces, as do neighbors Cambridge, Somerville, Newton, and Brookline. The Board of Health in Worcester, the state's second-largest city, voted 3-2 to begin phasing out the city's mandate. Upload file: february_11_2022.pdf. Statewide, the Department of Public Health is advising fully vaccinated people to wear face masks indoors in public if they have have a weakened immune system, an underlying condition that puts them at risk for severe infection, or lives with someone who is at risk or unvaccinated.
Massachusetts schools and cities are dropping mask mandates. Why are we Masks continue to be required in the settings defined below, except for when eating, drinking, sleeping, or as provided for in applicable guidance, and for an individual in a group that is exempt from the Order. I wish I felt as confident as he does. Use this button to show and access all levels. Doctors and parents are divided about the kids going maskless, but the governor said the significant drop in COVID-19 cases and deaths supported the change, saying, We have all the tools we need to keep schools safe as we move into dealing with the next phase of managing COVID.. Below is a list of cities and towns where masks are required in all indoor public places: Belmont Starting Aug. 9, masks or face lift the mandate requiring proof of vaccination for restaurants, bars and gyms. Please check with your local government for the mask rules in your community. Listen Live: Classic and Contemporary Celtic, Listen Live: Cape, Coast and Islands NPR Station, 'A lot of bang for your buck' with jail-based arts programs, From slams to sidewalks, poetry is alive in Greater Boston, How American English has borrowed, stolen, and evolved into an imperial language, Worcester school counselor Sean Magwire is a finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says Supreme Court needs an enforceable code of conduct. It helps me relax" Anne Pofcher of Beverly said. And how many of the pre-K kids too young to be vaccinated are now unsuspecting carriers of the virus or its recent mutation, omicron? Below is a list of cities and towns that have made face mask announcements: Arlington: Masks are required in indoor spaces that are open to the public, Bedford: Masks required in indoor public spaces or private spaces open to the public, Belmont: Masks are required in any indoor spaces open to the public including restaurants, bars, salons, places of worship, fitness centers and other businesses. Were hearing conflicting messages from city, state, and federal officials, not to mention from health experts weve been told to heed all along. So again, you need to check out what your community or favorite restaurant or gym require. Framingham was among several communities to recently issue mask. BOSTON (CBS) With the new Omicron variant driving COVID-19 cases to record levels in Massachusetts, many cities and towns have brought back or extended face mask mandates to slow the spread. With Cantons vaccination rate hovering around 80%, the town will be voting on lifting their mask mandate Monday night. Only staff and vendors must wear masks at the following sites: adult day health programs, dental offices, speech, occupational and physical therapy settings and other freestanding medical/clinical settings that do not primarily care for patients with acute illness or immunocompromised patients. In Massachusetts, the mask mandate was imposed in August and was extended three times. My stance is that I think we should move towards a mask advisory rather than a mandate, said Board of Health Chair Anjali Schutt. Researchers at the University of Washington have been monitoring the levels of immunity in countries around the world. How many of them are still unvaccinated? A lock icon ( This map shows the COVID-19 level in each Massachusetts community, according to the CDC's new system. And some cities and towns have no requirements at all. Where they are, where they aren't, and when they (might) end. Follow us so you don't miss a thing! GBH News brings you the stories, local voices, and big ideas that shape our world. And although she sees the benefit in masks, she will no longer be asking for them at the door. In fact, some measures are back to where they were last fall before a surge in infections related to delta and omicron variants. We will use this information to improve this page. Charlie Bakers administration is "not considering a universal mask mandate at this time.". So, while the numbers are trending in the right direction, Marcus counsels patience. Please remove any contact information or personal data from your feedback. A statewide mask mandate in schools is set to end February 28, but cities and towns are free to keep them in place if they so choose, and many of them are doing just that.
These are all the Massachusetts towns that have indoor mask mandates community health centers and clinics or other licensed medical/clinical settings that care for patients with acute illness and/or immunocompromised patients (e.g.
More Massachusetts communities dropping mask mandates The town is holding that meeting on February 16. Salems Board of Health voted unanimously to end its mask and vaccine mandates on February 7, a change that took effect immediately. Meanwhile the neighboring town of Canton appears closer to lifting their mask mandate. Lowell also let its mask mandate expire. An iHeartRadio station. "I feel like in the winter, everyone is sick with something, whether it's COVID or not. It had quite a run with its strict no-people policy, and was closed for longer than any other states capital. Bucci said it was hard to understand why his customers had to wear a mask when they came into the diner, but could take it off the second they sat at a table. It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. WBZ's Suzanne Sausville (@wbzSausville) spoke with health officials from two towns south of Boston: Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App.