FRAMINGHAM, MA — At the request of Mayor Charlie Sisitsky, a Special Meeting of the Framingham Board of Health has been posted for February 22, 2022, to discuss the duration of the current Joint Executive Order mandating masks inside public establishments and to potentially vote on a date to rescind the Order.

At the Special Meeting, which is open to the public via zoom, the Board may consider the draft of a new Joint Executive Order, which calls for rescinding the current mask mandates for indoor public spaces and municipal buildings effective at 12:01 am on March 7, 2022.

The posting and agenda can be viewed here: http://framinghamma.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=13625

The Mayor’s request comes after weeks of continuous conversation and collaboration between Mayor Sisitsky, Superintendent of Schools Bob Tremblay, and Department of Public Health Director Alexandra DePalo.

Included in those conversations has been such factors as the changing mandates and guidelines emanating from Governor Baker and his Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; the difficulty tracking cases given the many thousands of unreported Rapid Antigen tests; input from residents, businesses, and teachers; and the spikes in COVID-19 cases that have historically occurred after school vacation breaks.

In consideration of families making plans for the upcoming holiday weekend and School Vacation Week, Superintendent Tremblay, in collaboration with Director DePalo and the Mayor, expects to make an additional announcement Friday, February 18, 2022.

The current Joint Executive Order, designed to decrease the surge of the COVID Omicron variant, a Joint Order of the Mayor and Board of Health remains in effect. Executive Order #EO2022-001 requires mandatory wearing of masks by staff and customers aged two (2) and over in municipal buildings and all public indoor establishments in the City of Framingham.

The homepage of the City of Framingham website includes information and resources related to the mask mandate, including a copy of Executive Order #EO2022-001, Frequently Asked Questions and Answers, and Mask Advisory Notices in English, Spanish and Portuguese that can be printed and posted at businesses.

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Source: Framingham Board of Health civic alert.