SALEM, MASS. (WHDH) - The Salem Board of Health voted Tuesday night to reinstate the indoor mask mandate as cases continue to rise statewide.
The mask requirement for all businesses and city buildings open to the public will go into effect on Aug. 23 and is set to end on Nov. 13.
While health officials were mainly conflicted about the decision, rising COVID-19 cases and the surging delta variant were major factors in issuing the mandate. Additionally, less than half of eligible young people are vaccinated so far.
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll said the city’s reputation as a Halloween season tourist destination is another factor.
“We’ll have tens of thousands of people, a historic city, nooks and crannies, indoors in lots of places and we know this delta variant is rapidly transmissible particularly indoors and that’s the biggest concern, indoors more than outside,” she said.
To start the school year, Salem Public Schools will also be requiring masks in buildings and on buses.
Superintendent Steve Zrike said, “It gives us our best chance to have the most stable, consistent school year for our children who lost a great deal last year.”
Zrike said outdoor mask breaks will be encouraged and he hopes more students and staff will get their shots.
“We want to see larger numbers, percentages of our staff and students vaccinated,” he said. “Last year is not a year we want to repeat.”
The city is also working with municipal and school employees on a policy to require COVID-19 vaccination or twice weekly negative testing for all workers.
All businesses in Salem are encouraged to join in adopting a similar vaccination or negative-testing policy for their employees.
Other Massachusetts communities that have already implemented an indoor mask mandate include Belmont, Nantucket, and Provincetown.
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