AP

Boston’s indoor mask mandate for businesses is lifted

Mar 5, 2022, 6:30 AM | Updated: Mar 6, 2022, 10:01 am

BOSTON (AP) — A city order that required people to wear face coverings in indoor public spaces in Boston, including restaurants, shops, museums and entertainment venues, was lifted Saturday.

Boston follows New York, Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities that are relaxing pandemic restrictions as officials push for more normalcy after two grueling years of the pandemic.

City public health Commissioner Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, in conjunction with the city health board, made the decision earlier this week citing a steep decline in new coronavirus infections and hospitalizations as well as high vaccination rates.

“All of our key metrics are moving in the right direction,” Ojikutu said at the meeting.

In Boston’s Seaport district, most cafes and shops had taken down signs requiring mask mandates by late morning. Standing in line outside a bakery, Matthew Mayer, 23, said he felt relief and that the change was overdue.

“It feels great,” he said. “It feels like I am freed.”

But a few feet ahead in the line, several students were still wearing their masks and said they would continue to do so indoors.

“I am a medical student so for me its generally keeping myself safe from any pathogen. It doesn’t have to be COVID,” said Drea Gonzalez, 26, a public health student at the University of Pennsylvania.

A few blocks down at a CVS Pharmacy, employees were wearing masks as required, as were most customers. But those who didn’t have masks on said they felt the policy change made sense.

“Saturday couldn’t have come quick enough really,” said Bob White, a 76-year-old lobbyist who lives in Dorchester. “We’ve had a mask on for a couple of years. I think everything being in order, it’s good for the public to be behind us. When we got here yesterday, we had masks on going to dinner last night and when we got up this morning, we were going to burn our masks. But we didn’t.”

The masking requirement also has been lifted at many city buildings, including for city workers, except those where vulnerable populations are served. The city still recommends masking for people at high risk of becoming sick.

“While masks are no longer mandated in certain indoor settings, the Boston Public Health Commission recommends masking in these settings if you are at high risk for severe illness or if you will be around individuals who are,” the board said.

Also, individual businesses and other venues can continue to require masks for their customers.

The lifting of the mask mandate comes about two weeks after the city ended its proof-of-vaccination requirement for restaurants, gyms, entertainment venues and some other businesses.

Masks are still required on public transportation, in health care and congregate living facilities, and in the city’s public schools. The health board has scheduled a meeting March 9 to discuss school masking policy.

The latest indoor masking policy took effect last August.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Lead water pipes pulled from underneath the street are seen in Newark, N.J., Oct. 21, 2021. (AP Pho...

Associated Press

Biden to require cities to replace harmful lead pipes within 10 years

The Biden administration has previously said it wants all of the nation's roughly 9 million lead pipes to be removed, and rapidly.

4 days ago

Facebook's Meta logo sign is seen at the company headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on, Oct. 28, 2...

Associated Press

Meta shuts down thousands of fake Facebook accounts that were primed to polarize voters ahead of 2024

Meta said it removed 4789 Facebook accounts in China that targeted the United States before next year’s election.

4 days ago

A demonstrator in Tel Aviv holds a sign calling for a cease-fire in the Hamas-Israel war on Nov. 21...

Associated Press

Hamas releases a third group of hostages as part of truce, and says it will seek to extend the deal

The fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was back on track Sunday as the first American was released under a four-day truce.

8 days ago

Men look over the site of a deadly explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 18, ...

Associated Press

New AP analysis of last month’s deadly Gaza hospital explosion rules out widely cited video

The Associated Press is publishing an updated visual analysis of the deadly Oct. 17 explosion at Gaza's Al-Ahli Hospital.

12 days ago

Peggy Simpson holds a photograph of law enforcement carrying Lee Harvey Oswald's gun through a hall...

Associated Press

JFK assassination remembered 60 years later by surviving witnesses to history, including AP reporter

Peggy Simpson is among the last surviving witnesses who are sharing their stories as the nation marks the 60th anniversary.

12 days ago

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, ...

Associated Press

Israeli Cabinet approves cease-fire with Hamas; deal includes release of 50 hostages

Israel’s Cabinet on Wednesday approved a cease-fire deal with the Hamas militant group that would bring a temporary halt to a devastating war.

13 days ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @KTAR923...

Valley residents should be mindful of plumbing ahead of holidays

With Halloween in the rear-view and more holidays coming up, Day & Night recommends that Valley residents prepare accordingly.

Follow @KTAR923...

The best ways to honor our heroes on Veterans Day and give back to the community

Veterans Day is fast approaching and there's no better way to support our veterans than to donate to the Military Assistance Mission.

...

Midwestern University

Midwestern University: innovating Arizona health care education

Midwestern University’s Glendale Campus near Loop 101 and 59th Avenue is an established leader in health care education and one of Arizona’s largest and most valuable health care resources.

Boston’s indoor mask mandate for businesses is lifted