Somerville Mask Mandate for Indoor Public Spaces to End Saturday, March 5

With COVID cases decreasing, Somerville will lift its face mask requirement for indoor public spaces. As of Saturday, March 5, the City will no longer require masks indoors at business and other privately owned locations open to the public. 

Examples of public indoor spaces where masks will no longer be required include:

• grocery stores
• restaurants and bars
• theaters
• pharmacies
• fitness centers

There are some exceptions. 

Masks are still required by the U.S., State, and City governments in locations including:

• City buildings and public schools
• public transportation including on buses, trains, and planes, and in airports or stations
• in medical settings such as hospitals, urgent care, home health care, or doctors offices
• at senior and elderly care locations such as adult day care or nursing homes
• in taxis or ride sharing services such as Uber or Lyft

Private businesses also remain free to maintain mask requirements if they wish to. 

Both the City and the Somerville Public Schools are reviewing when to end mask requirements in City and school buildings. Any changes will be shared once decisions are made. 

The decision to lift the mask mandate was based on new guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (also known as the CDC). Because more people are vaccinated now, the CDC finds it safe to end mask requirements in communities with low COVID risk. Most of Massachusetts including Somerville are currently at low risk. You can check the CDC’s COVID risk tracker on their website.

Persons with higher risk for severe COVID-19, and people who live with or visit them, may still want to continue to wear masks indoors.

People at higher risk for severed COVID include:

• seniors and persons over age 50
• persons with certain health conditions 
• pregnant or recently pregnant people, and 
• people who are not vaccinated.

“Although the City is no longer requiring masks, some may still wish to mask for their own protection or for others who remain at higher risk. So please have respect and compassion for others as we make this shift. Together we will find our way forward,” said Mayor Katjana Ballantyne. 

“The good news is that COVID cases are declining and many Somervillians are vaccinated. And the research shows that the vaccines really help protect against serious illness,” added the Mayor. “So we will take this next step based on the new guidance. But we will also continue to work to help residents who remain without protection to get vaccinated.”  

For more coronavirus and vaccine information, visit somervillema.gov/COVID19 or somervillema.gov/vaccine and sign up for City alerts at somervillema.gov/Alerts. We urge you to sign up for every alert method you are able to receive: phone call, text, email. Also follow  FB.com/SomervilleCity and @SomervilleCity.