Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Mayor Michelle Wu said Thursday the mask mandate for Boston Public Schools will remain in place at least "for the time being," after the statewide mandate expires at the end of the month.
She said the mandate will remain until certain COVID metrics — like how many people are in the hospital, ICU capacity and percent positivity — drop below certain thresholds, and continue on a downward trend for several weeks. Similar metrics (below 95% ICU capacity, less than 200 daily COVID hospitalizations and a 5% positivity rate) are being used to see when to drop the city's proof of vaccination requirement for indoor dining and other recreation.
The announcement from the mayor comes a day after Gov. Charlie Baker said the state would be dropping its statewide mask mandate in public schools on Feb. 28.
"I won't pretend that I know what’s best statewide," she said, pointing out that she also has two children in the Boston Public Schools system. Wu also announced in the same conference that the city had come to a deal to let teachers from the Boston Teachers Union come to work unvaccinated in periods of low COVID transmission.
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