THAT WAS EASY:

The state released its new guidance on the same day Mayor Michelle Wu said improving COVID-19 metrics could prompt Boston to soon relax its own mandate on vaccines in some indoor settings.

The state Department of Public Health's new advisory no longer recommends that healthy, fully vaccinated residents wear masks in indoor public settings, effectively pulling back guidance Governor Charlie Baker's administration had released in December when he urged all residents to do so. The change comes a week after Baker said the state would ease its mask mandate in schools.

The Baker administration now recommends that vaccinated people mask up if they have a weakened immune system, are older or have an underlying medical condition that makes them at higher risk for severe disease, or if they live with someone who falls in those categories.

The Tuesday guidance also said it is "important" for those who are not fully vaccinated to still wear face coverings. The recommendations closely hew to a mask advisory the state released last July after the Delta variant emerged.

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