Reading Board Of Health Rescinds Mask Mandate

Press release from the Town of Reading:

February 11, 2022

COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Order of the Reading Board of Health Notice is hereby given that on February 10, 2022, the Reading Board of Health adopted the following emergency order under the provisions of M.G.L. c. 111, §§ 31, 104, 122 and all other authorizing statutes:

Based upon review of current COVID-19 caseload and testing positivity rates in the Town of Reading and Middlesex County, the Board of Health held a meeting on February 10, 2022, and the Board of Health voted to rescind the public health mask mandate previously authorized on January 6, 2022.

The following provisions to this new rescinding order apply:

1. Effective immediately, face coverings are no longer required but are strongly recommended for all individuals older than two years of age in all indoor public spaces, houses of worship, public meetings, or private spaces open to the public. The Board highly recommends the use of N95, KN95, or surgical masks. Due to the transmissibility of the Omicron variant, cloth masks alone are strongly discouraged.
2. The Board of Health strongly recommends all eligible residents have both an initial vaccination series for COVID as well as a booster at the appropriate time interval according to CDC/FDA guidelines.
3. Public meetings are strongly recommended to be held remotely except where in-person meetings are deemed essential by the chair. This is subject to change according to state emergency guidelines expected to expire April 20, 2022.
4. The mask mandate at the Pleasant Street center remains in place as previously voted on December 27, 2021.
5. 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 and Federal mandates.
6. This Order excludes entities licensed by the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), which are required to follow EEC guidance; however, entities operating as a daycare that are not licensed by EEC are mandated to follow the EEC mask guidelines promulgated 9/7/21 until otherwise rescinded or revised. This Order excludes Reading Public Schools, which are required to follow guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). This Order excludes the Reading Public Library which is required to follow the mandates of the Board of Library Trustees.
7. 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 by MGL Chapter 40, § 21D.

This Order shall be reviewed by the Board of Health at each subsequent regular meeting and such other meetings as are posted by the Board and shall remain in effect until rescinded. Order approved by a 3-0 vote of the Board of Health on February 10, 2022.

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