The Healey administration has announced that effective May 11, the state's modified COVID-19 public health emergency will be lifted in alignment with the end of the federal public health emergency.
“Thanks to the hard work of our health care providers and communities, we’ve made important progress in the fight against COVID-19,” said Governor Healey. “We know that we have the tools to manage this virus – vaccines, masking, testing, getting treatments and staying home when sick – and we’ve reached the point where we can update our guidance to reflect where we are now.
The governor plans to file legislation extending some pandemic-era "flexibilities" that the emergency declaration provided, including the extension of the use of nursing school graduates and students in their final semester of nursing education. It is important to note that these nursing school graduates and students will have 180 days from May 11 to become licensed. Currently there is a supplemental budget bill for state fiscal year 2023 in Conference Committee to extend the practice of graduate nurses and students in their final semester until March 31, 2024.