Boston Public Schools will suspend its indoor mask mandate for students and staff starting Monday, the superintendent announced Wednesday evening at a Boston School Committee meeting.
Wednesday afternoon, Bisola Ojikutu, Boston's commissioner for public health, recommended the local mandate be lifted given a"sustained downward trend in case rate and hospital admission" in the past two weeks.
Even as they announced the end of the mandate, both Ojikutu and Mayor Michelle Wu touted its effectiveness: Boston reported slower COVID-19 spread in schools than in other large Massachusetts school districts that lifted their mandates earlier.In a statement provided to WBUR on Wednesday, Mayor Wu noted data showing that Boston had"the lowest case rates among neighboring school districts.
Wu applauded the Boston Public Health Commission for its commitment to health and well-being in schools, and added her administration"will continue taking a tailored approach to masking based on careful monitoring of COVID wastewater data and other metrics.” Still, the announcement that the in-school mandate is ending — at the tail end of the school year -- inspired some pushback. Some parents and experts decried the decision to roll back an effective safety measure with just 10 days left in the school year.
"It's a shame to see the city end the mask mandate when community transmission is high," said Julia Raifman, an assistant professor of public health at Boston University.
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