Indoor Mask Mandate Effective Friday 8/27 at 8am

Effective at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, August 27 in the City of Boston, face masks will be required in all indoor public settings for everyone over the age of two. The City is implementing this proactive public health plan to mitigate community transmission of the Delta variant, ahead of the arrival of more than 50,000 college students from across the country and a return to school for more than 50,000 Boston Public Schools students. Most of the 100,000 children who live in the City of Boston are too young to be eligible for vaccination. 

Through an order from the Boston Public Health Commission, the City of Boston will require all people over age two to wear a mask or face covering:

• Whenever they are indoors on the premises of a business, club, place of assembly or other place that is open to members of the public, including but not limited to retail establishments, restaurants, bars, performance venues, social clubs, event spaces, and municipal buildings.

Face coverings may be removed when actively eating or drinking. Masks must be worn for all other indoor activities, including ordering at a bar or dancing. Masks are also required in gyms. The order does not apply to gatherings in private residences when no compensation is paid, private buildings that are inaccessible to the public, places of worship, private work spaces inaccessible to the public, or performers who maintain six feet of distance from their audience. 

Frequently asked questions about the new mask mandate are posted in reopening in Boston website. 

Restaurant owners with questions specific may contact: licensingboard@boston.gov. If you are in any other sector covered by this mandate, or you have general questions, please call 311 or contact: smallbiz@boston.gov.