Experts rally for mask mandates — again

A coalition of public health leaders, infectious disease doctors, and community organizers called on Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration Wednesday to reinstitute mask mandates in public schools and on transportation.

The move came shortly after federal health officials announced that about a third of the US population lives in areas at higher risk — mostly in the Northeast and Midwest. Almost every county in New England has medium or high COVID community levels, and waste water levels have continued to increase.