School Mask Requirement Extended to Feb. 28

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BOSTON — The requirement for face coverings in public schools has been extended through Feb. 28.
 
The requirement for masking had initially been approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education last August to expire on Oct. 1; that was extended to Nov. 1 and then again to Jan. 15. 
 
DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley on Monday alerted school districts that that masking would continue to at least Feb. 28 and possibly beyond that, pending changes in pandemic guidelines. 
 
"The mask requirement remains an important measure to keep students safe in school at this time," the extension announcement stated. 
 
Schools that meet the 80 percent vaccination threshold may discontinue masking for those who are vaccinated. Those unvaccinated must continue wearing face coverings. 
 
Only a few schools have reached that benchmark and some have continued to require universal masking rather than police the unvaccinated. 
 
About 75 percent of the population is vaccinated and about 75 percent of those eligible for the vaccine in Berkshire County have been inoculated. The highest rates of vaccination appear to be among staff and faculty but student inoculations have been lagging. 
 
But the Boston Globe found that broad disparities in vaccination rates for children ages 5 to 11, who were eligible for the vaccine in October. Some of the lowest vaccination rates are in poorer communities and the higher rates in more affluent areas. 
 
In the Berkshires, Williamstown reported the highest rate of vaccination in that age group at 83.5 percent. But only 9.8 percent of the town of Florida's 51 children were inoculated and 24 percent of Egremont's. 
 
Pittsfield had a rate of 44.3 percent and North Adams (and Clarksburg) 48.5 percent. Great Barrington and West Stockbridge were both more than 70 percent but Adams about 37 percent. 
 
Boston's rate was about 36 percent compared with surrounding towns like Newton (88.7 percent), Weston (92.5 percent), Arlington (102.5 percent), and Needham (97.3 percent).

Tags: COVID-19,   masks,   


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Healey Makes Berkshire Campaign Swing: 'I Stand With You'

By Tammy Daniels & Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

North Adams Mayor Jennifer Macksey says she endorses Healey and Kim Driscoll '150 percent' as they pursue a second term as governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Maura Healey was in the Berkshires on Monday to rally support for a second four-year term as governor. She spoke at a meet and greet on Main Street, visited small businesses on North Street in Pittsfield, and planned to stop in Great Barrington on Tuesday.
 
Speaking with dozens of supporters at the new Main & Mill restaurant, the Democrat ticked off successes over her term and challenges ahead in education, energy, healthcare and housing.
 
"I go around the state and I talk to colleagues around the country. People are hurting. You know, they can't afford gas, groceries, rent. Everything it seems has gotten more expensive," she said. "We got a president who continues to cut and make things more expensive and more difficult for all of us.
 
"I mean, except for the very rich and the very powerful, it didn't work out really well for a lot of people across this country right now, which is why state leadership I think, is all the more important."
 
Mayor Jennifer Macksey, who hosted the meet and greet, said Healey "gets what it is to grow a community, and she has supported me for the last 4 1/2 years." 
 
"No matter where you sit or who you represent, you are important to Governor Healey, and I know that firsthand because we talk often about the work that we do, the work we do in the weeds, the work we do at higher end, but Governor Healey gets it," she said, adding at a walkthrough of the Greylock School project later that she supports Healey and her running mate Kim Driscoll "150 percent."
 
Healey touted her role in being the "first governor in 20 years" to cut taxes, pointing to increases in tax credits for seniors and families, and signing the $5 billion housing act that allows accesory dwelling units by right and offered incentives for converting office space.
 
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