Geoff Diehl: Leave Decisions on Mask-Wearing Up to The People

By Matt Murphy

As Gov. Charlie Baker takes his time to review the Biden administration’s new guidance on masks, his potential opponent for the Republican nomination for governor in 2022 said Baker should reject calls for a return to state-mandated mask wearing. Geoff Diehl, a former state lawmaker and Donald Trump booster, said Thursday he believed a return to required mask wearing, particularly for children, would “disrupt their much-needed return to normal living and education practices.”

“The people of Massachusetts are smart and capable of making their own health decisions for themselves and for their families, including whether to get vaccinated or to voluntarily wear a mask. There is no need for government to keep interfering in our lives. Enough is enough,” Diehl said. Baker has not said yet whether he plans to seek a third term in 2022, but Diehl is already trying to draw distinctions between himself and the governor, who conservatives have come to view warily after his eight years in office.

“Any further mandates will harm families and, at this point, we can’t afford that in this state. We will also put unnecessary impediments on small businesses which are only now getting back on their feet from the devastation of the last year,” Diehl said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday revised its masking guidance to advise that everyone — including those who are fully vaccinated — resume wearing masks in indoor public spaces in areas where the Delta variant is fueling “high” or “substantial” COVID-19 transmission.

“We’re still looking into it,” Baker said Thursday after a press conference where he announced the first winners of the state’s VaxMillions lottery, open to anyone fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Asked whether more guidance from him could come by the end of the week, Baker said, “Soon.”

Diehl said residents of Massachusetts followed months of evolving guidelines and restrictions and have been vaccinated in high percentages, even though children under age 12 are not eligible yet for a vaccine. “The science shows children are at an extremely low risk for transmission of Covid,” Diehl said. “Children across the Commonwealth have been devastated emotionally, socially, and educationally in the past 18 months due to the mandates placed on them. To force them back into masks will disrupt their much-needed return to normal living and educational practices.”