SALEM — The city’s vaccine and indoor-mask mandate will be reviewed during Tuesday night’s virtual Board of Health meeting, and will be put to a vote whether to keep or rescind it based on current COVID-19 case data, said Board of Health Chair Dr. Jeremy Schiller.
“The Salem Board of Health will be reviewing the continued need for or repeal of the mask mandate and vaccine requirement as the latest COVID surge with the omicron variant is on the downswing,” Schiller said. “The board has always, and will always, make decisions on COVID-mitigation measures based upon the science and data available.”
The initial order to review the indoor mask and vaccination mandates was originally scheduled for March 8. However, due to declining case numbers throughout late January and into early February, the board decided to initiate a discussion before the original date.
Schiller said the board will base their decision on current COVID-19 cases in Salem and intensive-care-unit (ICU) capacities in hospitals.
“These data points and metrics are analyzed daily and consequently, given the current local hospitalization numbers and ICU capacity, it warrants revisiting these measures now,” he said.
Per the city’s COVID-19 dashboard as of Jan. 24, Salem currently has 10,244 total confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 228 active cases and 627 new cases in the last 14 days.
The review of the mask and vaccine mandate comes as other communities in Massachusetts seek to decide to rescind their mandates as well.
The city-wide mask mandates in Beverly and Lowell expired on Wednesday, Feb. 2, with the respective boards of health citing a decrease in cases and positivity rate. The City of Worcester announced Monday that it would consider lifting its mask mandate on Feb. 18 — again, citing lower cases and more hospital availability.
Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll directed the Board of Health to consider implementing a vaccine and indoor-mask mandate following the implementation of one by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Dec. 20, 2021.
Driscoll said she will trust the Board of Health’s decision during the meeting and said trends were moving in a positive direction for the city’s case and positivity rate.
“I have full confidence in the expertise and thoughtfulness of the Board of Health,” Driscoll said. “I know they will continue to make decisions driven by science and data, aimed at protecting public health in the best interest of our community — as they have throughout this pandemic. The good news is that COVID conditions are improving relative to both case counts and hospital capacity, and I’m confident our board will use that same data to make adjustments to the policy, as necessary.”