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As COVID-19 public health emergency ends, Massachusetts is 'in a better place'

Nurse Camille Dickey enters the room of a COVID-19 patient.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff/OPB
Nurse Camille Dickey enters the room of a COVID-19 patient.

State will drop mask requirement in hospitals, other medical settings

What should people in Massachusetts expect when the COVID-19 public health emergency ends this week? The state’s top public health official discussed the changes at a press conference.

With the end of both the statewide and federal public health emergencies that have been in place since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, Massachusetts will lift the requirement that face masks must be worn in all medical settings such as hospitals, doctors’ and dental offices, said Dr. Robert Goldstein, the new Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

“We are only taking this action after in-depth consideration, conversations, and deliberation,” he said.

Massachusetts is the only state that still has a mask mandate in health care facilities. Advocates for people with disabilities have lobbied to keep the requirement in place, but Goldstein defended the decision.

“We are in a much different place with COVID-19 and at this moment if we look at the risk of COVID-19 transmission even in a health care setting, the risk is extremely low and bringing the mask mandate down is following the science and the data that are available,” he said.

Hospitals must provide masks to patients, visitors, and staff who request one and must have a plan in place to return to universal masking if there is an uptick in COVID-19 infections.

For the first time since March 2020 there are hospitals in Massachusetts that have zero COVID-19 patients, noted Goldstein.

After three years, the state has the tools to manage the virus including at-home tests, therapeutics, and vaccines, he said.

“We are, after years of hard work, in a better place,” Goldstein said.

When current federal supplies run out, the COVID-19 vaccines will only be available commercially. The costs are undetermined, but Massachusetts has a law requiring insurance companies to cover treatment and vaccines for COVID-19.

“Nobody should be limited in their access to vaccines and that is important because remaining update with the latest bivalent booster dose is the best way we can protect everyone agains COVID-19 severe disease and death,” Goldstein said.

The federal government program that provided at-home test kits for free through the mail is also ending. Goldstein said Massachusetts has a stockpile of 2.5 million test kits available to rush out to local public health centers if needed.

Although the public health emergencies are ending, the virus that causes COVID-19 will remain among us for some time, said Dr. Larry Madoff, an infectious disease specialist with the state’s health department.

“I think it is unlikely the coronavirus that is with us will be eradicated,” he said. “One of the impacts of the pandemic is we have developed really good tools for this particular virus and so that will help lessen its impact going forward.”

Other changes that will occur when the public health emergency ends, Goldstein characterized as “mostly under the hood.” These include different data reporting requirements to the federal government. He said the state’s online COVID dashboard may be updated less frequently.

As of May 3, the state reported over 3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases with 22,602 deaths since the pandemic began.

The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.