Masks to Become Optional at Somerville Public Schools After 3/14; at City Buildings & Events After 3/21

With COVID cases decreasing, all local face mask requirements for indoor public spaces are being lifted. Some federal mask requirements will remain in place.

• As of Saturday, March 5, the City stopped requiring masks indoors at businesses and other privately owned locations open to the public such as grocery stores, theaters, and restaurants.
• As of Monday, March 14, masks will be optional in the Somerville Public Schools.
• As of Monday, March 21, masks will be optional in all City buildings and at events hosted by the City of Somerville.

There are some exceptions. Masks are still required by the U.S. and State governments in locations including:

• public transportation including on buses, trains, and planes, and in airports or stations
• in medical settings such as hospitals, urgent care, home health care, or doctors offices
• at senior and elderly care locations such as adult daycare or nursing homes
• in taxis or ride sharing services such as Uber or Lyft

Private businesses also remain free to maintain mask requirements if they wish to.

The decisions to lift the mask mandates were based on guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (also known as the CDC).

Persons with higher risk for severe COVID-19, and people who live with or visit them, may still want to continue to wear masks indoors. Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, a positive test, or known exposure to COVID-19 should also delay in-person activities. Wait until you are symptom-free and have completed quarantine as described at cdc.gov/coronavirus before heading out without a mask.

People at higher risk for severed COVID include:

• seniors and persons over age 50
• persons with certain health conditions
• pregnant or recently pregnant people, and
• people who are not vaccinated.

“Vaccination has played a significant role in driving down COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and especially with the masks coming off, it remains more important than ever that we all stay up to date with the vaccines. Please be sure to get vaccinated and boosted when you are eligible so that you can continue to protect yourselves, your neighbors, and our incredibly dedicated healthcare workers,” said Mayor Katjana Ballantyne.

For more coronavirus and vaccine information, visit somervillema.gov/COVID19 or somervillema.gov/vaccine and sign up for City alerts at somervillema.gov/Alerts. We urge you to sign up for every alert method you are able to receive: phone call, text, email. Also follow FB.com/SomervilleCity and @SomervilleCity.