Marlborough Ends Mask Mandate After 3 Weeks

MARLBOROUGH, MA — After being in effect for just over three weeks, Marlborough's latest pandemic mask order has been rescinded.

The Marlborough Board of Health voted on the issue Monday night, issuing a mask advisory in place of the order. The health board had previously said it would review the need for a mask mandate at each regularly scheduled meeting.

"Given our community’s current and anticipated future COVID-19 transmission levels, the Marlborough Board of Health advises all community members to stay up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations and to wear a face covering when indoors, particularly if you are in a crowded area and/or if you are at high risk of severe COVID-19 disease," the new advisory says.

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The latest mask order went into effect on Jan. 21 during an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases. Almost half of the 10,783 coronavirus cases recorded in Marlborough since March 2020 were added between Dec. 1 and the end of January.

But cases have been dropping steadily in recent weeks. As of Monday, Marlborough was adding about 207 cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period. That same number was at 529 on Jan. 31 and 1039.6 on Jan. 24.