Public Health Emergency Ending In Boston, But School Mask Policy Remains
BOSTON (CBS) – The Boston Public Health Commission voted to end the city's health emergency, but the school mask policy will remain in place.
Since Governor Charlie Baker ended the statewide school mask mandate on February 28, many districts have made them optional. The 49,000 students in Boston Public Schools do not have the green light to go maskless yet.
Edwin Choi's 13-year-old son is a student at Boston Latin and neither minds waiting to remove masks in the classroom. "There's no reason to take the mask mandate away too early," Choi said. "Data shows that it saves lives."
On Wednesday, the city's Public Health Commission said it would recommend lifting the requirement when Boston's daily COVID count falls to 10 new cases per 100,000 residents from the current 13.
It has dropped drastically since January.
"Overall we are following our metrics very closely on a daily basis, and we are optimistic about where Boston is heading over the coming weeks," said Dr. Sarimer Sanchez of the Boston Public Health Commission.
What the health commission did officially end is the city's public health emergency. It was Mayor Marty Walsh who declared it on March 15, 2020. The commission now says it will cease on April 1, 747 days later.
"Of course it's nice to not have a mask," said 13-year-old Brennan Berkson. "But it will save a lot of lives to wear one." Brennan admits the mask isn't his favorite thing, but he's gotten used to it and his mother says keeping the mandate way too long is better than gambling.
"He goes to school with people who are all different levels of risk that are not the same as ours, so I am going to do what protects everybody, not just my family," said Stephanie Shapiro Berkson.
Mayor Michelle Wu tweeted Wednesday night that the city will continue to follow the science, but in the end, it will be the outgoing school superintendent making the final call on student and staff masking.
The Public Health Commission urged schools to always maintain a climate where optional masks are welcome.