Massachusetts Town Rejects CDC, Says it Will Keep Outdoor Mask Mandate in Place

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The city of Brookline, Massachusetts is rejecting Centers of Disease Control and Prevention guidance that advises loosening requirements for wearing face masks in outdoor settings.

“Our face covering requirement has served as a protective layer that limits the possibility of spreading COVID-19 and we are reluctant to relax it at this time without further public input and review by the Advisory Council on Public Health,” Brookline Health Commissioner Dr. Swannie Jett said in a statement justifying the decision.

The Advisory Council on Public Health is a local panel in Brookline, directed, in part, by Jett.

The CDC last week said that Americans who had been fully vaccinated could stop wearing face masks in a limited number of outdoor settings when they were distanced from other people.

Jett’s statement came the same day that Massachusetts relaxed its outdoor mask mandate for the state.

Reception to that guidance from municipalities around the country has varied. Florida’s surgeon general went a step further last week, saying vaccinated Floridians did not need to wear masks in any setting. Officials in Orlando said they would reject that guidance to stick with CDC guidelines.