Milford Rescinds Mask Mandate For Town Buildings

MILFORD, MA — The mask mandate for Milford municipal buildings has been rescinded.

On Tuesday, the town stopped requiring visitors in municipal buildings to wear masks. Those places include Town Hall, the library and other facilities. The requirement went into place in early December as the omicron variant was beginning to rise.

Since December, vaccination rates in Milford have continued to climb, and cases have started to retreat from recent highs seen in January.

"Milford's incidence is 36.8 percent cases per 100,000 persons in the past 14 days, and Milford has a 7.86 percent positivity rate," the Board of Health said in a Wednesday news release. "At this point, community transmission in Milford is considered moderate."

Just under 80 percent of town residents have had two COVID-19 vaccine doses, and about 40 percent have been boosted.

Unlike other towns, Milford never instituted a mask requirement beyond town buildings. The Board of Health did issue a strong advisory to wear masks right before Christmas. That advisory has also been rescinded.

Not all local buildings and public spaces are governed by the town. Schools in most cases are still under a mask requirement until at least Feb. 28. Masks are required while riding public transit, including MWRTA buses and any MBTA vehicle, per a federal order. Also, individual businesses may still require masks as a condition of entry.