City of Cambridge and Cambridge Public Health Department Issue Mask Advisory & Announce Expanded Free COVID-19 Testing for June

With Cambridge and Middlesex County both in the High COVID-19 Community Level category as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the City of Cambridge and Cambridge Public Health Department today issued an advisory strongly recommending that residents wear masks when indoors outside the home and when around others.

"The safety of Cambridge residents is of paramount importance to us,” said Commissioner of Public Health Dr. Assaad Sayah. “We have and will continue to monitor all available data and indicators to provide informed guidance.”

The CDC recommends several prevention measures when COVID-19 community levels are High:

• Wear a mask indoors in public settings.
• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.
• Get tested if you have symptoms.
• Stay home if sick or recently exposed.

People at higher risk for serious illness should consider additional precautions. Higher risk groups include people age 65 and older, people with certain medical conditions, and people who are immunocompromised. You are also at higher risk if you are not fully vaccinated and boosted.

For more information on CDC COVID-19 Community Levels and recommended precautions, visit the CDC website.

“Masking is, as it has always been, one of the basic tools for protecting against the spread of COVID-19. I can’t stress strongly enough that residents should be masking to protect both themselves and the more vulnerable residents in our community,” said Derrick Neal, Chief Public Health Officer. “With the high level of COVID-19 transmission we’re seeing in Middlesex County and across the state, we really need people to exercise caution. What happens next with this pandemic is in the hands of the public.”

In addition, Cambridge is expanding its free, 7-day per week COVID-19 PCR testing program by adding an additional walk-in testing site that will also offer COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters on Saturdays for the month of June.

Walk-in COVID-19 PCR testing will be offered two days per week in June during the following hours:

• Wednesday, from 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. at 2254 Massachusetts Ave, St. John the Evangelist Church.
• Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at 85 Bishop Allen Drive, Christian Life Center, owned and operated by St. Paul’s AME (beginning Saturday, June 4)

Appointment-only testing, provided through a partnership with CIC Health, will continue to be available to people who live or work in Cambridge during any available appointment time, 7 days per week, at CIC Health’s 295 Third Street location during their regular operating hours:

• Monday - Friday, from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
• Saturday & Sunday, from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Appointments can be booked online at www.cic-health.com/cambridge or assistance is available from CIC’s Customer Service Team at support@cic-health.com or by calling 877-280-2937.

"Across the city, we’ve seen many residents continuing to wear masks when around others,” said Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and City Manager Louis DePasquale in a joint statement. “This is the right choice for people to be making, especially those at higher risk for COVID-19, and we urge residents to mask up to protect themselves and their community while cases are high.”

All residents are encouraged to get tested if they have COVID-19 symptoms, get vaccinated and boosted, avoid large gatherings, and wear well-fitting masks when indoors outside the home.

The Cambridge Fire Department will offer free, walk-in COVID-19 vaccines and boosters at the St. Paul AME testing site on Saturdays in June during testing hours and will be holding mobile vaccination clinics at locations and events throughout the city this summer.

The Cambridge Public Health Department continues to offer weekly appointment-only COVID-19 vaccine clinics for the Cambridge community on Wednesdays from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. at 119 Windsor Street, 2nd Floor. For more information, and to book an appointment, visit www.cambridgema.gov/vaccine.

Despite a high proportion of vaccinated residents in Cambridge and the Commonwealth relative to other areas, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are on an upward trajectory in Cambridge, Middlesex County, and the Commonwealth.

The City of Cambridge continues to monitor COVID-19 data closely and will make adjustments to COVID-19 testing and mitigation strategies as needed.

For more information and regular COVID-19 updates, please visit www.cambridgema.gov/covid19 to sign up for daily City of Cambridge email updates.