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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new mask guidance for Massachusetts and the rest of the country on Tuesday, citing the Delta variant of COVID-19.
The new guidance advised people to wear a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status — but only in certain areas, where virus transmission was "substantial" or "high."
Those aren't self-defined categories: "high" transmission means more than 100 cases per 100,000 people in the particular location, and "substantial" means between 50-100.
The CDC released a map of the entire country, by county, breaking down which areas were considered substantial or high transmission.
For Massachusetts, that means the following counties:
High Transmission
- Barnstable County (Cape Cod)
Substantial Transmission:
- Suffolk County (Boston, Chelsea, Revere, Winthrop)
- Bristol County (Places like Fall River, New Bedford, and Taunton)
- Dukes County (Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands)
- Nantucket County (Nantucket)
The CDC also said that all school students and staff should be wearing masks, regardless of vaccination status, but said students should return to in-person class in the fall.
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Written by Chaiel Schaffel