For the time being, masks can remain off in the Tri-Town. But that doesn’t mean mask mandates aren’t on their way for municipal buildings.

Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester are each following state covid guidelines, which do not require masks, for their own towns’ masking policies in municipal buildings.

That measure extends to the three Councils on Aging, each of which are deferring to local and state guidance for masking protocol.

“It’s recommended to those who are vulnerable, who have health conditions,” Mattapoisett Council on Aging Director Jacqueline Coucci said.

In Marion, instructors of programs with the Council on Aging can mandate that their classes are masked, but there’s no overall mandate for visitors to the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center.

“We let the instructor set the tone for the class,” Marion Council on Aging Director Karen Gregory said.

While Gregory said “we’re not liking the signs we’re seeing,” regarding a recent accelerated spread of covid, she added that she hopes the uptick will pass. Gregory cited social distancing, outdoor activities and a high vaccination rate as safety procedures that should mitigate spread of the virus.

“It’s almost like we’ve adopted it as a way of life,” Gregory said.

While Rochester doesn’t yet have a town-wide mask mandate, the Board of Health will consider the measure at a meeting on Aug. 18.

If a mandate were reintroduced, it would put Rochester in line with area towns such as Wareham, which reinstated a mask mandate earlier this month, and Acushnet, which is aso weighing a reinstated mandate.

“We’re anticipating one,” Acushnet Council on Aging Board Chair Linda Guilbeault said.

Marion and Mattapoisett, however, are currently sticking with a choose-for-yourself policy for residents in town buildings.

“At the moment we have not looked at it,” Town Administrator Jay McGrail said, adding that neither the Board of Health nor the Select Board have expressed interest in reinstating a mask mandate. But he noted that the lack of ongoing talks does not mean the town won’t soon discuss or implement a mandate.

At an Aug. 10 meeting, the Mattapoisett Select Board said the town is waiting to see how other organizations like the Old Rochester Regional School District handle masking before the town makes a decision on a mandate.

“Wait till school gets going and see what happens with the school system and the state,” board member Jodi Lynn Bauer said.

Member Jordan Collyer agreed, saying “I think we should follow suit like we did last spring.”