City Of Framingham: EXECUTIVE ORDER

Press release from the City of Framingham:

January 14, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1/14/2021

For further information, contact:

Susan Nicholl, snicholl@framinghamma.gov                    

Tel (508) 532-5428, M (508) 864-2724 

CITY ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER REQUIRING MASKS INSIDE PUBLIC BUILDINGS, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 19; Framingham Board of Health to Hold Emergency Meeting Tonight  

Framingham, MA – Framingham Mayor Charlie Sisitsky has issued an Executive Order requiring mandatory wearing of masks inside all municipal buildings and the premises of buildings that are open to the public, effective Wednesday, January 19 at 12:01am.

It is anticipated that the Executive Order will become a Joint Order of the Mayor and Framingham Board of Health (BOH) after an emergency meeting of the BOH tonight at 7:00 pm, at which the Board has been requested to ratify and adopt the Executive Order. The meeting announcement can be read here.

Excluded from the Executive Order are private residences and private workplaces that are not visited by the public.

Specifically, the Order reads, “all persons entering any indoor public location in the City of Framingham shall wear a clean, well-fitted mask or face covering that covers their nose and mouth, such as a fabric or surgical mask.   For purposes of this Executive Order, “public location” is defined as any place open to the public, including but not limited to grocery stores, pharmacies, all other retail stores, public transportation, taxis, livery, and other ride-sharing vehicles, and any other business open to the public, including hotels, motels, event venues, and private clubs that host indoor events or performances.”

The City will post an FAQ on framinghamma.gov on Tuesday, January 18, which will also include a graphic that can be downloaded and posted at the entrance to affected locations. 

Mayor Sisitsky attended the January 11 meeting of the BOH to solicit input from Board members and from the public. In addition, the Mayor’s office and the Framingham Department of Public Health (DPH) have received many dozens of emails over the past week from residents providing their perspective.

“The concern expressed for the well-being of family, neighbors, customers, students, and fellow Framingham residents is what makes our community great,” said Mayor Sisitsky. “The COVID-19 Pandemic has taxed our community’s mental, physical, and financial health for almost two years.  The goal of this Executive Order is to slow the surge of positive cases and enable residents to feel safer as quickly as possible.”

Managers of licensed businesses and other affected locations may call the Mayor’s office for assistance with messaging to customers.

As of January 12, the number of people in the City who have tested positive for COVID-19 reached 14,375. Almost 2000 of those positive tests were in the one-week period January 5-12. 

As of January 12, Framingham had 3,331 active cases, with 10,719 recovered and 259 fatalities       

These numbers only include confirmed cases reported through the Massachusetts data system; the Framingham Health Department does not receive the results from rapid antigen home tests.  If you test positive you may not receive a letter or phone call from the Health Department Nurse at this time.  

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This press release was produced by the City of Framingham. The views expressed here are the author’s own.