Worcester Repeals Mask Mandate, Again

WORCESTER, MA — For real this time: Worcester has repealed its mask mandate.

The Board of Health voted 3-2 during a special meeting Wednesday to repeal the mandate effective 11:59 p.m. on Thursday. The mandate has been in effect since mid-September, pre-dating the recent omicron surge.

The Board of Health had to vote a second time on repealing the mandate because new member Gary Rosen, a former city councilor, was not sworn in at the previous meeting on Feb. 7. The vote broke down the same, however, with members Chareese Allen and Khanh Van Tran again voting against the repeal.

"This is strictly procedural, and I thought we had a great discussion at our last meeting," Van Tran said on Wednesday.

During the previous vote, Allen, a UMass Memorial nurse, expressed concern about the vaccination rate in Worcester. About 125,000 of Worcester's 205,000 residents — just under 61 percent — had been fully vaccinated as of Feb. 10, according to state data.

Worcester will next begin a discussion about masks in schools. There's a statewide mask mandate in effect for public schools until Feb. 28. After that, individual districts can decide whether to keep local mask mandates or modify policies. Worcester Public Schools could decide on a new mask policy in early March.

Wednesday's meeting took under 10 minutes. Rosen did take time to apologize for forcing the second vote.

"I, and I alone, am responsible for not having followed this long-established city rule. I pledge to do much better in the future," Rosen said. He was sworn in last Thursday, according to city officials.