Provincetown officials vote to implement mask mandate for indoor public spaces

PROVINCETOWN, Mass. — Provincetown officials voted unanimously on Sunday night to reinstate an indoor mask requirement.

Effective immediately, masks must be worn by everyone in indoor public places, town officials said.

The order is in response to the recent COVID outbreak stemming from the Fourth of July weekend.

The decision came during an emergency meeting by town officials on Sunday night, as Provincetown is dealing with a COVID outbreak in the community stemming from July 4th weekend.

Prior to the Fourth of July, health officials said all Cape communities were at around a 1 percent positivity rate, or below for COVID cases.

Recent data shows Provincetown with a positive test rate of about 9 percent.

Officials said the indoor mask mandate will bes downgraded to an advisory, if the positive test rate drops to 3 percent or less, for a 5-day period.

And will be lifted altogether if it goes below 1 percent for 5 days.

The Provincetown cluster has been made worse by recent breakthrough cases, now confirmed to be linked to the Delta variant, which is highly transmissible.

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