NANTUCKET – Nantucket’s mask mandate has been downgraded to a mask advisory in response to continued low case numbers on the island.
Masks are encouraged anytime individuals are indoors, and for those who are unvaccinated or at high-risk for COVID-19.
Health Director Roberto Santamaria also cited the accessibility of vaccines as reason to drop the difficult-to-enforce mandate.
“Everyone knows what’s necessary, everyone knows what we have to do. Vaccines are there, treatments are there. We have treatments that work. We have facilities that are able to handle it. We have to start treating it as we do the flu,” Santamaria told the town’s Board of Health Thursday.
“Nantucket is number one in the vaccination category. We have vaccinated more people than any other community in Massachusetts. There’s not much more to go from there.”
Masks are still federally mandated on boats, airplanes, and public transportation. Private businesses can still require masks, as well.
Nantucket health officials said the mask mandate will be reinstated if the island sees another uptick in COVID spread that meets the median threshold in the Biobot wastewater virus tracker.
The island community is currently in the 13 percentile, well below the 50 percentile median.
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