Boston will join the list of cities and towns dropping indoor mask mandates beginning Saturday, March 5. Boston Public Health Commissioner Dr. Bisola Ojikutu recommended the move to the agency's board Tuesday to unanimous consent.
The change means patrons visiting indoor spaces — like bars, restaurants and movie theaters — will no longer need masks to enter.
But it will not apply to Boston Public Schools, which is maintaining a mandate for teachers and students after the Baker administration lifted its statewide school mandate Monday.
“Based on the data we have seen over the past weeks, we can remove some of the prevention and mitigation strategies that have been necessary to protect residents,” said Ojikutu, who added that officials will monitor key metrics and adjust policies as needed.
Boston's latest mask order went into effect last August as then-acting mayor Kim Janey prepared the city to welcome back thousands of college students amid a surge of the COVID-19 delta variant. Mayor Michelle Wu kept the order in place after assuming office later in November.
The change comes on the heels of multiple demonstrations decrying Boston's COVID restrictions, including an in-person City Council hearing where union heads and some of their members criticized Wu for maintaining policies they deemed overly cautious.
The Health Commission still recommends masking indoors “if you are at high risk for severe illness, or if you will be around individuals who are.”
Wu's office said a mask mandate may be reinstated if Boston's COVID-19 metrics begin to tick up again and show an increased risk of community spread.
