Springfield, Massachusetts, lifted its indoor mask mandate as of Monday. Longmeadow, Sunderland and West Springfield have already done so.
Jeanne Galloway, director of public health for West Springfield, said the board of health was concerned that COVID-19 rates could spike as a result of the Big E fair, which took place in the town in September and October.
But, she said, "having made it through the Big E with numbers not drastically increasing and continue to decline in our region, they just felt it was at a point where they could reduce mask-wearing."
COVID-19 cases in West Springfield have risen since the board suspended the mask mandate. The town still recommends people wear masks indoors.
Galloway said she's hopeful that more residents getting vaccinated and being careful will limit the spread of COVID. But she said the mask order could be reinstated if new cases go up significantly.
In Worcester, city officials are leaving a mask mandate in place.
Dr. Michael Hirsh, medical director for Worcester's division of public health, said while the city has seen six consecutive weeks of falling case numbers, "the CDC defines our region as a red zone so that the level of transmission is still very high. That's why we haven't done anything to rescind those orders."
The CDC recommends wearing masks in public indoor settings in areas of high transmission, a category Worcester County falls into, as do Hampden and Berkshire counties.
Hirsh said he and his colleagues are also concerned about the impact of two new variants of COVID-19.
"Both of them are more transmissible than the current delta and we don't know if that will lead to more infections," he said.
Hirsh said people spending more time indoors because of colder weather could also increase the spread of COVID.
