Republican Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts announced Wednesday the state’s mask mandate for public schools would be lifted at the end of the month.
Baker said he decided to ease restrictions because there are “far more tools” available to combat COVID-19 than there were at the start of the pandemic and families and children have had plenty of time to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Schools are “very rarely sources” in spreading COVID-19, he added.
“With Massachusetts a national leader in vaccinating kids, combined with our robust testing programs, it is time to lift the mask mandate in schools and give students and staff a sense of normalcy after dealing with enormous challenges over the past two years,” Baker said in his announcement. “We have all the tools to keep schools safe as we move into dealing with the next phase of managing COVID.”
MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL DISTRICT ENDS RACIALLY SEGREGATED GROUPS AFTER LAWSUIT
Watch today’s #COVID19MA announcement:
➡️ Tune in LIVE: https://t.co/B8WDKuY86R pic.twitter.com/5L3ffD1rqy
— Charlie Baker (@MassGovernor) February 9, 2022
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said there would be some exceptions to lifting the mandate, as children would be required to wear masks on school buses “per federal order.” He also asked all school leaders and students to “respect all individual choices around mask wearing.”
Several Northeastern states are lifting their mask mandates. New Jersey announced Monday that the end to its mask mandates in schools would be on March 7. The same day, Delaware announced its indoor mask mandate would be removed on Friday, with the mandate for public and private schools, along with child care facilities, expiring on March 31, and a handful of other blue states are also moving to ease restrictions.
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There were 1,792 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in Massachusetts on Tuesday, bringing the total to 1,510,765 confirmed cases, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.
