Boston will enforce an indoor mask mandate for public spaces starting on Aug. 27, according to an announcement from Acting Mayor Kim Janey.
At City Hall on Friday, Janey cited the arrival of college students to the city as a factor to reinforce the mandate.
“The arrival of the fall brings an influx of more than 50,000 college students into Boston from all across the world,” Janey said. “… In light of these changes among our population … we are implementing a number of proactive public health measures to future protect the people of our city.”
According to The Boston Globe, the mandate applies to individuals above the age of 2 inside public spaces.
Janey also cited a recent uptick in positive COVID-19 cases due to the rapidly spreading Delta variant. Boston’s positivity rate as of Aug. 14 was 3.4 percent, averaging more than 111 new cases of COVID-19 per day, according to The Globe.
“Requiring masks indoors is a proactive public health measure to limit transmission of the Delta variant, boost the public confidence in our businesses and venues, and protect the residents of our city who are too young for vaccination,” Janey said.
The mask mandate follows on the heels of recent mandates in various cities, towns, and counties throughout Massachusetts, including Cambridge, Somerville, and Arlington.
Janey encouraged Bostonians to continue to get vaccinated in order to effectively protect everyone from the virus.
The University was not immediately available for comment.
Featured Image by Stephen Mooney / For The Heights
