Boston Officials Consider Mask Mandate as COVID-19 Infections Rise – NBC Boston

As COVID-19 cases rise in Boston, school and city officials are considering bringing back a mask mandate.

What do they hope a mask mandate would do? Avoid repeating last year’s staffing issues and student absenteeism because of a similar COVID-19 surge.

In a letter sent to families, officials asked for everyone to to take precautions, and said that they could implement the masking policy for a couple of weeks after students and staff return to school.

Flu and RSV cases may be slowing down, but COVID-19 infections have been steadily rising – up 7% according to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with Covid-19-related deaths up by 15%.

Some seasoned health experts say that what they’re seeing is unprecedented. “I have been in, and around emergency room departments for well over 30 years and have not seen anything along these lines before,” said one health expert.

If you forgot to put your snow stakes in, no worries. Mild temperatures this week will soften the ground enough to prepare for the next storm, which we don’t expect until about mid-January. Sunshine and mild temperatures are going to make up the most of this week, temperatures varying between the mid 30’s to even the high 50’s this upcoming Sunday. Rain looks likely for the weekend, but temperatures will be warm enough that there won’t be a chance of frozen rain.

“The big unknown for us at this point is what kind of [COVID-19] season are we going to have,” said another health expert. “Obviously we had two very difficult winters in the past two years. Now I think we have to brace for that.”

Experts say that if you’re traveling, you should assume you’re traveling with sick passengers. Health experts heavily encourage wearing a mask in public, testing yourself for COVID-19 before you return to work or school after the holidays, and stock up on medications if you can find them.

As for the indoor masking in Boston, a decision could be made by the end of this week.