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Massachusetts has five counties where federal health authorities now recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks in indoor public places, but Gov. Charlie Baker is not ready to make an announcement to change mask regulations in the country. ‘State.
Asked Wednesday about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s announcement on the use of indoor masks in places with high COVID transmission rates, Baker said he and his administration were reviewing the guidelines and would have more information later.
He said he was “considering” a school mask warrant – which the CDC recommended on Tuesday and which dozens of medical experts and professionals requested later today – but immediately ruled out “instituting travel restrictions, “when asked about the COVID cluster in Provincetown that has now exceeded 830 people, and that prompted a mask warrant in the Cape Cod tourist destination.
Gov. Charlie Baker was asked if he plans to bring back mask advice to Massachusetts in light of the CDC’s new recommendations for fully vaccinated people.
Baker noted that the CDC makes recommendations for the country as a whole, while Massachusetts is in one of the best positions of any state in the country.
“The higher your vaccinated population, the less likely you are to see significant increases in your hospitalization rates when you have an increase in the number of cases, and that’s certainly true here in Massachusetts as well,” said Baker.
He was speaking at Haskell Dam Pond in Gloucester, where he announced grants for dam and dike repair and highlighted infrastructure investments he wants to include in the state’s COVID recovery efforts.
In places with high COVID-19 transmission rates, fully vaccinated people are advised to wear masks indoors again.
COVID rates are rising in Massachusetts, although much more slowly than across the country, as the more transmissible delta variant takes hold.
In Massachusetts, Barnstable County is the only high transmission area under the CDC’s new COVID guidelines, while Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket and Suffolk counties are considered substantial transmission areas.
The governor lives in Swampscott, Essex County – asked Wednesday if he would change his behavior because of the delta variant, he said emphatically ‘no’.
He also pointed out that the experts do not agree on the new regulations needed, if any, due to the variant.
“I love to listen to them all and a lot of them in many cases not only have slightly different views, but opposing views,” Baker said.
On a call for results this morning, Pfizer announced that a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine strengthens protection against the Delta variant.
The mayor of Revere said the city is seeing its highest number of cases since May – when more rules were in place. He therefore reactivates his emergency response team to discuss what may follow.
“These next steps include everything from updated protocols for events, to potential immunization requirements for city staff and the potential update to our mask mandate,” said Mayor Brian Arrigo.
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