Melrose Mask Mandate To Be Revisited Soon

MELROSE, MA — In one week the Board of Health will decide what to do with the city's indoor mask mandate.

While no meeting is listed on the city's website, Health Director Anthony Chui said when the mandate was instituted that it would be revisited Feb. 8.

"We're not going to have a mask mandate forever," Chui said at the time.

Whether it ends this month is still unknown. The state is believed to be past the peak of the omicron surge, but cases are still staggeringly high. The most recent public health data shows Melrose with a two-week positivity rate of 14.8 percent and 672 cases in that same time.

Melrose's vaccination rate may play into the decision. Over 91 percent of the city's eligible residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination, but only 53 percent have received a booster shot.

The mask mandate went into effect Jan. 2. It requires face coverings for everyone ages 5 and older in indoor spaces, including businesses, fitness centers, restaurants, houses of worship, congregate care settings and more.

Wakefield, which Chui is also health director of, has a similar mandate in place that is scheduled be revisited March 16.

Stoneham took a different approach to a mandate, requiring masks only be worn inside pharmacies and grocery stores in an effort to protect the most vulnerable residents while they carry out necessary tasks.

Some communities have opted against masking. The Burlington Board of Health last month opted against instituting any mandate, and just Monday night Beverly voted to let its mandate expire.