The report pushed the state's confirmed COVID-19 caseload to 667,818 since the start of the pandemic and its death toll to 17,673. Maura Healey will lift the modified public health emergency and walk back a vaccine mandate . Mass. just changed its mask advisory. Here's what's different. Chris Sununu was also asked Thursday if increasing COVID cases would prompt him to issue another mask order. Maura Healey's administration is standing by its decision to lift the state's mask mandate for medical settings next month, despite calls from some health professionals to. The Department of Public Health is still urging people to get vaccinated and boosted, noting that vaccination remains the most effective protection against serious illness, hospitalization, and death. Folks should be getting vaccinated. "It should be made publicly available. Non-vaccinated individuals are advised to . Gov. This is a change from the previous guidance released in December 2021, which recommended that all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask or face covering in indoor, public spaces. With increasing hospitalizations and mounting COVID-19 case numbers prompted by the Delta variant, municipalities across the country have re-imposed mask mandates and other public health mitigations. ", The State Police Association of Massachusetts, which has beenpushing to reinstate trooperssuspended for failing to comply with the mandate, said the executive order led to 20 of its members "either being terminated or suspended without pay due to their sincerely held religious beliefs that stop them from receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. All rights reserved. More than 84% of the state's population completed a primary vaccine series to protect against COVID-19 and about 30% have received an updated bivalent booster, both among the highest rates in the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since late August, unvaccinated individuals have been five times as likely to contract COVID-19 than fully vaccinated individuals and 31 times more likely to get the disease than those who have gotten a booster shot. a sharp increase in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, like public transit systems and health care facilities, Supreme Court strikes down Biden's plan to wipe away $400 billion in student loan debt. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff Most major health care and hospital systems across Massachusetts will end or substantially modify their policies on wearing masks next week, on May 12, after the. ", She also praised her predecessor, Gov. The Healey administration announced Wednesday it will end the public health emergency status in Massachusetts which in 2021 effectively took the place of an earlier COVID-19 state of emergency on May 11, the same day a federal public health emergency ends. Some of the last vestiges of the COVID-19 emergency declaration will end in May when Gov. DPH is also advising unvaccinated individuals to continue to wear a face covering or mask to help prevent spreading COVID-19 to other people. We issued a mask mandate last fall because we had no other options available to us. Masks will become optional for most hospital patients, visitors and "These men and women acted bravely and heroically during the height of the pandemic. Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com. Officials at the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union said some of their workers and other first responders spent the early months of the pandemic working in person before the rollout of vaccine protections, then faced discipline including termination for refusing to get immunized. Mass. ", COVID-19 testing site at Mercantile Center to close March 30. The review also found that 99.9 percent of breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated people under the age of 60 did not result in death; for those over 60, over 97 percent of breakthrough cases did not result in death. 2 0 obj ", "The termination of state employees for refusing to get vaccinated was the lowest point of the Baker administration, and sent the wrong message to thousands of first responders," added Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union lobbyist and former Worcester County Sheriff Guy Glodis. 2023 www.telegram.com. State data shows that over 89 percent of the entire Massachusetts population has at least one dose of a vaccine (including 94 percent of residents over the age of 5) and that 74 percent of the entire population is fully vaccinated. On Monday the seven-day average positivity rate was at 3%, compared to the most recent peak of just over 23% on Jan. 5. Healey will end the COVID vaccination mandate for state workers - WBUR Baker's vaccine mandate proved controversial, triggering legal challenges from unions representing state troopers and correction officers. Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com. The masking mandate inside hospitals in Massachusetts was, by and large, lifted in May, and face coverings became optional. Local leaders in at least five states, including California and Nevada, have reinstated mask requirements, issued facial covering recommendations or threatened the return of strict public health . "We will work closely with the public employee unions to implement these changes and will be discussing reinstatement options for employees with their representatives," said Healey spokesperson Karissa Hand. {sR$jUE&y[>|Ku-}x#1_q3CF$,B"Yq ,J9'#d%#dd]{ In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area. <> Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union President Dennis Martin called Baker's mandate a "destructive policy that ultimately effected [sic] the lives and families of dedicated state employees. Most Massachusetts hospitals lifted their mask requirements when the COVID emergency came to an end. February 15, 2022. Charlie Baker, saying he and his administration "saved countless lives by putting these important measures in place in a time of immense crisis. Marjorie Taylor Greene tried to school CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on vaccines. With increasing hospitalizations and mounting COVID-19 case numbers prompted by the Delta variant, municipalities across the country have re-imposed mask mandates and other public health mitigations. Some page levels are currently hidden. End of the mask mandate in health care settings In September 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed national restrictions on mask mandates for healthcare settings,. This includes public transit, such as the MBTA, commuter rail, buses, ferries, and airplanes, and while in rideshares (Uber and Lyft), taxis, and livery vehicles. All rights reserved, Massachusetts health officials reported another 477 confirmed coronavirus cases -- the most in a single day since mid-May -- and six new deaths on Thursday as the testing rate increased again, Gov. COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are free, safe, & effective. Massachusetts public health officials updated their mask guidance on Tuesday, dropping a previous advisory that everyone should wear masks indoors, and instead recommending . COVID-19 Updates and Information | Mass.gov The other five public health orders now due to expire deal with health care workplaces and staffing, some of which Healey plans to tackle via separate legislation. On the same day the state public health emergency ends, Healey will rescind a Baker executive order that required executive branch workers to receive a primary vaccination series against COVID-19 or secure a medical or religious exemption, and her administration signaled it may work to bring back some employees who left because of the mandate. Cheryl Hines is along for the ride. The feedback will only be used for improving the website. "It's something that could have been completely prevented," said Harvard Medical School instructor Dr. Lara Jirmanus. 10:00. When you take away masks in health care, you have outbreaks.". And if communities believe they need to pursue strategies that are more effective and appropriate for them, that they should do so, and that's exactly what Provincetown did.". "We have a set of statewide standards and they're based on what we see on a statewide basis. For weeks, as COVID-19 cases rose, Baker has faced pressure from public health experts and local elected officials to reimpose a statewide mask mandate to stem the spike in infections, as many . And the governor will activate up to 500 members of the Massachusetts National Guard to provide non-clinical support to hospitals, such as driving ambulances, monitoring patients, or delivering meal trays. Theres no question the next few weeks will be enormously difficult for our health care community, Baker said during a press conference Tuesday morning at the State House in Boston. x]rH}w FmX&MvV}%Jm`Y EUZt)N.U//_|>9}+W'(rD,Ls%g(? Maine and New Hampshire have called in the National Guard to help strained hospitals. Jirmanus has been one of the leading voices urging health care facilities to keep masking mandatory. Individuals who are considered close contacts or who have tested positive must follow the isolation and quarantine guidance, which includes wearing a mask in public for 5 more days after they leave isolation or quarantine on day 5, regardless of vaccination status. He also said he has no plans to change mask guidance for school in the fall, despite a call from some lawmakers to revive a school mask mandate amid the spread of the Delta variant. In recent weeks, Massachusetts has seen a sharp increase in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations to levels that have not been seen since the surge last winter, prompting state officials to order hospitals facing capacity constraints to cut elective procedures by 50 percent. Thats how were going to keep our numbers low in the future Right now, were not anticipating any restrictive measures.. Follow Boston.com on Instagram (Opens in a New Tab), Follow Boston.com on Twitter (Opens in a New Tab), Like Boston.com on Facebook (Opens in a New Tab), Massachusetts is distributing over 2 million free rapid COVID-19 tests and there could be more to come. <> Health officials are no longer advising vaccinated people without pre-existing conditions or weakened immune systems to wear masks indoors, which was the guidance they issued in December. Table of Contents Mask guidance for Massachusetts residents How to select and wear a mask Mask guidance for Massachusetts residents