Reading Approves Indoor Mask Mandate

READING, MA — The Board of Health voted 3-0 Thursday to adopt a mask mandate in all indoor spaces in Reading.

The order went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday. It applies to everyone over the age of 2 when inside public spaces, houses of worship, public meetings or private spaces open to the public. The Board of Health recommends the use of N95, KN95 or surgical masks instead of cloth masks.

The order stipulates the following:

1. Public meetings are strongly recommended to be held remotely, except where in-person meetings are deemed essential by the chair.
2. Food service establishment customers may only remove face coverings when seated and engaged in the act of eating and drinking.
3. Indoor performance venue customers may only remove face coverings when engaged in the act of eating and drinking, if permitted in the venue. Indoor performers may remove their face coverings while they are performing if they maintain at least six feet of distance from the nearest customer or attendee.
4. Residents, employees, and guests in multi-unit homes and apartment complexes are required to wear face coverings when inside hallways and other common areas.
5. Fitness Center/Health Club workers, customers, and visitors are required to wear face coverings during fitness activity, including strenuous activity.
6. At Personal Services establishments, including, but not limited to, barber shops, hair and nail salons, all customers and workers are required to wear face coverings, except for skin or beard care that occurs on the face, where the customer may temporarily remove the face covering but must immediately put the face covering back on for the remainder of the visit.
7. Masks remain mandatory for all individuals on public and private transportation systems (including rideshares, livery, taxi, ferries, and buses), in healthcare facilities, and in other settings hosting vulnerable populations, such as congregate care settings, as directed by the Governor and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
8. This Order excludes entities licensed by the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), which are required to follow EEC guidance; however, this Order shall apply to entities operating as a daycare that are not licensed by EEC. This Order excludes Reading Public Schools, which are required to follow guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; however, Reading Public School buildings and facilities, when used for non-school-related activities, are subject to this Order.
9. All entry doors of businesses open to the public must post notice advising customers that face masks must be worn inside the establishment. Establishment staff must supervise and enforce this requirement. If a customer refuses to wear a mask or face covering for non-medical reasons, a business must decline entry to the individual for the business to avoid violation of this Order.
10. To the extent required, this Order shall be enforced by the Reading Board of Health and its authorized agents. Violations of this Order may be punished by a civil fine, if after a verbal education coupled with a written warning, of $300 per violation in the manner provided for non-criminal disposition of violations.

The mandate will be reviewed by the Board of Health at each regular meeting and will remain in effect until rescinded.