Mask advisory and guidance for Massachusetts residents
Effective July 1, 2022, the Department of Public Health advises that individuals should wear a mask or face covering when indoors (and not in your own home) if you have a weakened immune system, or if you are at increased risk for severe disease because of your age or an underlying medical condition, or if someone in your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease.
Masks continue to be required in the settings defined below, except for when eating, drinking, sleeping, or as provided for in applicable guidance, and for an individual in a group that is exempt from the Order.
In each of the settings listed below, Persons in Massachusetts over the age of 5 years old are required to wear a mask over their mouth and nose as outlined below:
Non-residential healthcare facilities and programs licensed or operated by the Commonwealth
Staff, patients, vendors, and visitors must all wear masks at the following sites:
hospitals, emergency medical services, primary care and urgent care settings,
community health centers and clinics or other licensed medical/clinical settings that care for patients with acute illness and/or immunocompromised patients (e.g. oncology, rheumatology, immunology).
Healthcare practice settings of any provider licensed by a professional board which sits within the Department of Public Health or the Division of Occupational Licensure
Staff, patients, vendors, and visitors must all wear masks at the following sites: vaccination sites, primary care and urgent care settings, and any medical/clinical settings that primarily care for patients with acute illness and/or immunocompromised patients.
Only staff and vendors must wear masks at the following sites: adult day health programs, dental offices, speech, occupational and physical therapy settings and other freestanding medical/clinical settings that do not primarily care for patients with acute illness or immunocompromised patients.
Freestanding, outpatient behavioral health settings are not subject to the requirements of this Order. Masks are optional for staff, patients, vendors, and visitors in these settings.
In skilled nursing facilities and residential care facilities licensed or operated by the Commonwealth:
masks are required for staff and visitors.
Masks are optional for residents as further described in DPH Guidance: Caring for Long-Term Care Residents During the COVID-19 Response.
For Home health care workers, including Personal Care Attendants (PCAs) and Home Health Aides in community and home-based settings where they are providing patient-facing care. This requirement only applies to the worker providing care.
On transportation provided by the Commonwealth’s Human Service Transportation (HST) Brokerage system. Drivers and other staff on transportation provided by the HST Brokerage system must wear masks.
