February 27, 2022
Under the CDC’s new masking guidelines, most Massachusetts residents don’t need to wear masks.
Counties are still classified as having low, medium, or high COVID-19 levels, but the recommendations for whether to wear a mask or not are significantly different.
If your county has a low COVID-19 level, you don’t need to wear a mask, according to the CDC. If it is a medium level, those at high risk of severe illness should talk to their doctors about wearing a mask and taking other precautions. If your county level is high, the CDC says you should be wearing a mask indoors and in public.
Advertisement:Every county in Massachusetts currently has either low or medium levels, meaning that the vast majority of residents don’t need to be wearing masks, according to the CDC.
Right now, Bristol, Plymouth, Dukes, Barnstable, Norfolk, Middlesex, Essex, and Hampden Counties are considered low risk. Suffolk, Worcester, Hampshire, Franklin, Nantucket, and Berkshire Counties are at a medium level.
The new guidelines determine COVID-19 severity in a county not just by the number of new cases, but also based on the number of hospital beds being used and hospital admissions. These data points help demonstrate how badly COVID-19 is straining the hospitals in a county.
Nantucket County, for instance, has a higher rate of cases per 100,000 people than most of the state, with 691 cases per 100,000 people. Meanwhile, Worcester and Franklin Counties only have 120 and 170 cases per 100,000 people respectively, but the number of hospital admissions for COVID-19 per 100,000 is higher than the rest of the state at 10 admissions per 100,000 people.
https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/8826340/The exception to these recommendations is that the CDC still recommends unvaccinated people wear masks indoors and in public regardless of their county’s COVID-19 severity level.
The CDC also recommends people who test positive for COVID-19 or who display symptoms should wear a mask.
Advertisement:The new recommendations don’t change the agency’s previous requirement that people wear masks in airports, on public transportation, and in train and bus stations, states and cities can still put their own masking rules in place.
The City of Boston still has its own mask mandate for schools and businesses, but the City’s Public Health Commission is set to meet Tuesday to consider changing it.
This weekend, Mayor Michelle Wu said the city appears to be headed in the right direction with its COVID-19 measures. Boston’s positivity rate was at 4%, compared to around 2% statewide.
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