A Massachusetts town is keeping its outdoor face mask mandate in place, days after the state lifted the mandate, The New York Post reports.
On Friday, officials in Brookline, just outside of Boston, announced that they would delay complying with Gov. Charlie Baker’s order to relax face coverings in public places.
“Out of an abundance of caution and in our residents’ best interests, the Town of Brookline will not follow suit with the state’s decision to lift the outdoor mask mandate today,” Health Commissioner Dr. Swannie Jett said in a statement.
“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.”
The mandate will remain in place at least until they have a chance to review it at the town’s next Advisory Council on Public Health meeting, the statement said.
Baker announced Tuesday that the state was easing its outdoor mask mandate, allowing people to not cover their faces outside in public, when social distancing is possible, according to the report.
The town of Salem will also delay loosening any restrictions as they weigh the city’s positivity rate, the Boston Globe reported.
Parts of Boston College and Boston University are located within the town, and Harvard University and MIT are nearby. A 2015 study found Brookline to be the second-most educated town in America, according to a Fox News report.