Town of Groton to lift mask mandate on Thursday
Groton — The Town of Groton plans to end its indoor mask mandate on Thursday.
The town announced on its Facebook page that it was lifting the mandate that went into effect Dec. 30, 2021, due to the declining rate of COVID-19 infections in town and decreasing number of patients hospitalized. In addition it said that because surrounding communities have not enacted an indoor mask mandate, the Town of Groton’s mask mandate is less effective at stopping the spread of the virus.
A mask mandate will remain in effect for all town facilities, Town Manager John Burt said.
The announcement says the end of the mandate “does not affect the Governor’s existing school mask mandate." Businesses and government offices have the option to require masks.
“Although the mandate for wearing masks indoors is being lifted, we strongly recommend that all individuals, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, continue to wear masks indoors,” the notice stated.
"Masks are still required to be worn by everyone in certain settings such as health care facilities, facilities housing vulnerable populations, public and private transit, correctional facilities, schools, and child care facilities," the notice added.
Burt said the town had posted a poll on the Greater Groton website, https://www.greatergroton.com, to get an idea of what residents wanted. About 1,700 people participated, with 70% favoring eliminating the mask mandate. He said the comments he read on social media and received directly heavily favored ending the mandate.
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