Sudbury Indoor Mask Mandate Starts Sept. 1

SUDBURY, MA — A new mask mandate begins in Sudbury on Wednesday, and will go a step further than most other towns reinstating mask requirements as the coronavirus delta variant continues to circulate widely.

The Sudbury Board of Health approved the new mandate on Aug. 24. Anyone over age 2 will be required to wear a face mask inside all town buildings, including schools, plus retail stores, restaurants, bars, fitness centers, churches, barbershops and salons — in other words, all indoor spaces that are open to the general public.

The mandate will be in effect "until transmission decreases," according to the health board. Some other local towns, including Framingham and Wayland, have also reinstated mask mandates, but only for municipal buildings.

Gov. Charlie Baker lifted the statewide mask mandate at the end of May during a time before the delta variant, and when vaccines offered renewed hope for a return to pre-pandemic life.

Coronavirus cases have been steadily increasing in Massachusetts since about July 1. The delta variant is thought to be much more transmissible than the original strain, although COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be an effective defense.

As of this week, just under 4.5 million Massachusetts residents had been fully vaccinated, and just under 16,000 had tested positive for coronavirus — so-called "breakthrough" infections. About 571 vaccinated people were hospitalized, and 131 had died so far in 2021, according to state records.

Cases will likely continue to rise this fall as children return to school, and people head indoors during cooler weather. Brigham and Women’s Hospital Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes told the Boston Globe this week that cases may not rise as dramatically as last fall due to the wide availability of vaccines.