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Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? The Future Of Mask-Wearing In Mass. Uncertain After CDC Guidelines Shift

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.
Jessica Rinaldi
/
The Boston Globe / Pool / State House News Service
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.

In most cases, people fully vaccinated for COVID-19 probably don't have to wear a mask, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But, at least for now, mask mandates remain in place in Massachusetts.

Last week, after the CDC's announcement, Governor Charlie Baker tweeted that it was "great news," while declining to immediately change the state's rules. Meanwhile, some epidemiologists are urging caution.

Carrie Healy, NEPM: The governor said to expect an update early this week. What are you Hearing?

Matt Murphy, State House News Service: Yeah, we're still awaiting the governor's schedule. He was in Washington, D.C. last week, the end of the week when the CDC dropped the mask mandate. We saw a number of states, including states in New England, move very quickly to adopt the CDC guidance and protocols, eliminating their own mask mandate — states like Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine.

But the governor IS taking a little more time with this, as did states like New York. He did say that early this week he would be updating the state's guidance. What we don't know is if he will go the full step and follow the full CDC guidelines, or will he go further and also adjust the state's reopening schedule, pushing ahead some of these dates set for later in May and the full reopening set for August 1?

Or will he take a more incremental approach, even though there are, you know, three-quarters of adults in Massachusetts fully vaccinated, there still is not a vaccine for children. And the question remains whether or not the governor wants to see more people vaccinated before he fully loosens the restrictions throughout the economy and on gatherings and masks.

The pandemic opened up the ability for folks to vote by means other than being in person in Massachusetts. Now, many states have enacted new restrictions, making it even harder for residents to vote. The Elections Law Committee will meet this week. Do you get a sense as to what Massachusetts might keep or lose?

Yeah, Massachusetts may be a bit unique here. You're not looking at putting restrictions in place, actually looking to expand the voter options. One thing we know is that House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka have said they want to look for ways to make voting by mail, which was successfully deployed in Massachusetts during the pandemic, a permanent feature of elections in Massachusetts. How much more they want to layer on top of that — the committee will be hearing testimony this week. Some want to see the legislature act sooner rather than later.

An extension of vote by mail was put in place earlier this year to cover spring municipal elections, but that expires in June. What happens in the fall and then moving forward into the 2022 elections remains to be seen and would be governed by potentially a permanent law that could include a vote by mail. But the committee will also be looking at things like same-day voter registration, more early voting opportunities and other changes like that to make sure cities and towns have the resources to implement these expanded voting options.

Last Friday, House and Senate lawmakers announced they have agreed on a consensus bill that funds the construction of a new Holyoke Soldiers Home. What is known about the agreement and when do we expect final action on this bill?

Yeah, this agreement looks an awful lot like the bill that passed the Senate. It has the financing, the $400 million to build the new Soldier's Home in Holyoke. But it also has the additional $200 million in financing bond authorization to explore other veterans care facilities or services that may be needed in other parts of the state. And we expect that the House will take this up potentially as soon as Tuesday, and this will reach the governor's desk before the end of the week.

Keep up here with Beacon Hill In 5.

Carrie Healy hosts the local broadcast of "Morning Edition" at NEPM. She also hosts the station’s weekly government and politics segment “Beacon Hill In 5” for broadcast radio and podcast syndication.
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