Health

12 HE ALTH • Fall 2021 A s Delta variant coronavirus cases surge both locally and beyond, the federal and state governments have declined to institute any form of mask mandate. Gov. Charlie Baker said repeatedly in August he is not putting another mask requirement in place, citing the high coronavirus vaccination rates in Massachusetts relative to other places. With the exception of certain municipalities taking the matter into their own hands, this has left individual business owners and management to decide for themselves whether or not to require face coverings for their staff and/or customers, and under what circumstances. "There's nothing that's uniform… It's independent decisions," said Jeannie Hebert, Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. Changing guidance released in spring, in light of rising case counts and how the Delta variant was spreading even among vaccinated people, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has recommended masking indoors in public for those areas of the country experiencing either high or substantial transmission, regardless With Massachusetts declining to issue new mask mandates in light of changing CDC guidance, individual business leaders take masking rules into their own hands Mask decisions • By Monica Benevides Grace Elton, CEO of Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker

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