Brookline To Follow State, Lift All COVID-19 Restrictions May 29

BROOKLINE, MA — Brookline will lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions, including the mask mandate, following Boston and the rest of the state on May 29. But it's urging caution.

“We support and will follow the timeline set forth by Gov. Baker’s office regarding rescinding the face covering order,” said Brookline Health Commissioner Dr. Swanni Jett. “This is an important step forward in the fight against COVID-19, however we still expect the residents of Brookline to wear face coverings if they have not yet been vaccinated or if they are sick. Yesterday's announcement in no way means that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, and if people use poor or reckless judgement it could very well lead to another surge of cases.”

Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday announced that the state's mask mandate will be replaced with recent federal guidance May 29 that fully vaccinated people don't need to wear face coverings indoors or outdoors, with a few exceptions.

That day will also mark the end of all business, capacity and gathering limit restrictions in Massachusetts and in Brookline.

Brookline Health Commissioner Jett said the town will be lifting its face cover order and replacing it with an advisory along with the rest of the commonwealth on May 29

Masks won't be completely disappearing. Face coverings will still be mandated in places, such as nursing homes, hospitals, public and private transportation and inside schools, regardless of a person's vaccination status.

Businesses will still have the option of requiring masks.

The state is on pace to hit its goal of fully vaccinating 4.1 million people by June, Baker said.

As of the May 13 state report, some 26,458 Brookline residents were fully vaccinated, or 41 percent per capita. That's about three and a half times more than the number of people who cast ballots in the town election on May 4.

"Massachusetts is getting vaccinated faster than virtually every other state in the country," he said. "We've gotten to this point because we followed the science, and the people of Massachusetts did the hard work and made the sacrifices. We are now prepared and protected, and we can move forward together."

Baker had said the state would be reopened by Aug. 1. That timeline was dramatically accelerated after the federal government's guidance last week that fully vaccinated people no longer needed to wear face coverings indoors or outdoors.

"For everybody in Massachusetts it's been a really, really, really long year," Baker said. "The challenges and the tragedies that have, in many cases, accompanied everything with COVID have been really rough on people."

Baker said Monday he plans to end the State of Emergency June 15.

Brookline garnered national attention this month when it became one of the few municipalities in the state to continue to require people wear masks outdoors —despite the federal and state authorities saying it was no longer necessary. It is still planning to lift the outdoor mask mandate on May 21.

Baker said he would support communities that felt the need to open at a slower pace.

"Communities that don't want to go as aggressively or as far as we're proposing to go here, they know the facts on the ground as well, or better, than anybody, and they can make decisions that make sense for them," he said.

Read the updated guidance:

• Mask guidance
• Youth sports guidance
• DESE guidance
• EEC guidance

Previously: Gov. Charlie Baker Says He Will Lift All COVID-19 Restrictions May 29

• Boston Following MA's Lead, Reopening May 29

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how