Westport To Become Mask Optional Beginning Feb. 28

WESTPORT, CT — Westport will become a mask-optional community beginning Feb. 28, First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker announced Friday.

In her announcement, Tooker said the decision was made in collaboration with the town's COVID-19 Emergency Management Team.

According to Tooker, masks may still be required in other locations outside the municipal authority, including healthcare facilities, facilities housing vulnerable populations, correctional facilities and both public and private transit. Some Westport establishments and locations may also continue to maintain a full mask policy.

"We are comfortable and confident that requiring masks in municipal buildings is no longer a necessity, with the exceptions noted," Tooker said in a statement. "Certainly there are those who will continue to wear a mask in certain circumstances, and we respect and encourage that personal choice."

Tooker noted she was very proud to be leading a community as resilient as Westport.

"Since early 2020, we have all had to navigate the many phases of COVID," Tooker said. "Being mask-optional is an encouraging development in yet another phase that we will navigate together."

According to Tooker, the date of the lift was chosen to correspond with Gov. Ned Lamont's decision not to extend the state's school mask mandate past Feb. 28.

Earlier this week, the state Senate voted to extend the statewide school mask mandate until the end of the month, then leave the decision up to local boards of education.

See also: Lamont: Connecticut Will Lift School Mask Mandate Feb. 28

• CT Senate Votes On School Mask Mandate

Superintendent Tom Scarice also recently announced students will not be required to wear a mask to Westport Public Schools once they return from their winter break on Feb. 28.

In his "Superintendent's Update" released Thursday, Scarice said he formally provided the Westport Board of Education with his recommendation to eliminate the universal masking mandate for all students and staff, beginning Feb. 28, during their meeting Wednesday.

Scarice said he recommended the board refrain from officially repealing the face mask policies until that date, when the state universal masking requirement will officially sunset, given that the final rules and guidance regarding this action have not been released by the departments of education and early childhood yet.

"Based on board member input at the meeting [Wednesday] night," Scarice said in his update, "it is evident that the board supported my recommendation and will take action on Feb. 28."

Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce president Matthew Mandell said in an email to Patch he did not foresee the town shifting to a mask optional model causing any radical changes for local businesses.

"Some merchants asked for masks, some didn't," Mandell said. "This might still continue. It was always up to them. I just hope people remain smart and don't let this thing creep back in."

The town previously re-issued its mask mandate in all town-owned buildings on Dec. 27 as coronavirus cases continued to rise in Westport following the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.