Salem Business Vaccine Order, Mask Mandate Up For Vote Wednesday

SALEM, MA — The Salem Board of Health is scheduled to vote on Mayor Kim Driscoll's recommendations to reimpose the city's business indoor mask mandate and a potential coronavirus vaccination order to enter indoor city businesses during a special meeting on Wednesday night.

The Board of Health met to discuss these measures last week with no clear consensus reached. Salem Hospital President Dr. David Roberts came out strongly in favor of vaccine orders to "protect the vaccinated people of the city of Salem from the unvaccinated," but the overwhelming number of those who spoke during public comment — including several business owners — spoke out against a potential vaccine order.

No public comment will be allowed at Wednesday night's meeting.

Driscoll did not speak at last week's meeting but said she would recommend the measures to the Board of Health on Monday — shortly after Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced similar measures for that city.

"I support putting in place a vax requirement for restaurants, gyms + entertainment venues and will be recommending to our Board of Health that we move in this direction," she posted on her Twitter account. "We need to use all the tools in our toolbox to address the current COVID challenges.

"We will continue to work with our small businesses to implement public health measures. Vaccine requirements, testing and masking up indoors are all part of the mix when it comes to beating back COVID."

But the tide of vaccination mandates that may have been anticipated has yet to develop as Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said on Tuesday she will not be recommending a business-entry vaccine order for that city, while the Somerville Board of Health balked on Tuesday at backing Mayor Joe Curtatone's push for a vaccination mandate.

The Medford Board of Health issued a vaccine mandate for "large-scale entertainment venues" in that city — but did not include bars, restaurants, gyms, fitness clubs and other similar businesses in that order.

According to the Salem Board of Health agenda, the vaccination order would apply to:

1. Indoor Entertainment, Recreational, and Event Venues, including movie theaters, music or concert venues, commercial event and party venues, museums and galleries, professional sports arenas and indoor stadiums, convention centers and exhibition halls, performing arts theaters, bowling alleys, and other recreational centers.

2. Indoor Food Services, including indoor portions of food service establishments offering food and drink, including restaurants, bars, and all indoor dining areas or food service establishments.

3. Indoor Gyms and Fitness Settings, including commercial gyms, fitness, yoga/pilates/barre/dance studios, boxing/kickboxing gyms, fitness boot camps, indoor pools, and other facilities used for conducting group fitness classes.

The agenda said the proposal would not apply to food services offering food or drinks exclusively for off-premises outdoor consumption, or charitable food services, such as soup kitchens.

The special Board of Health meeting will be available to watch via Zoom here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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