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Holyoke Mayor Garcia addresses statewide rise in COVID-19 cases

Date: 12/27/2021

HOLYOKE – Mayor Joshua A. Garcia hosted a press conference on Dec.17 along with Board of Health Chair Patti Mertes and Receiver Anthony Soto to address growing concerns in rising COVID-19 cases in the city.

The mayor’s opening remarks addressed the rise in COVID-19 numbers statewide and increases in hospitalizations. He said, “Unfortunately, this negative trend applies to the city of Holyoke as well, specifically in children 18 years or less making up a large number.”

Furthermore, he explained that rising cases are expected given the holiday season.

Vaccinations

He “offered a call to action” to Holyoke residents with a reminder that there “are tools offered by the city to help keep family and friends safe.” He said 62 percent of Holyoke residents are vaccinated and encouraged the remaining 38 percent to “please get vaccinated.” He provided a list of vaccination sites available in Holyoke such as the CVS at 250 Whiting Farms Rd., the CVS at 400 Beech St. and the Holyoke Health Center at 230 Maple St. He said, starting Dec. 18, there would also be a clinic at the Holyoke Mall. He also mentioned additional resources to find appointments can be found at vaxfinder.mass.gov or 211.

He addressed those with vaccination hesitancy by stating examples of what can be done “to just stop the spread.” These were, “talk with family and friends about possibly getting vaccinated, request that family and friends get tested before attending any holiday season events and tell friends and family if you are beginning to feel ill after a holiday spent – and as doing something as simple as wearing masks.”

Testing

Garcia said there are “plenty of testing locations still available” at Holyoke Community College on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 7-11 a.m. and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 p.m.-7 p.m. There is also testing at the Holyoke War Memorial located at 310 Appleton St. on Wednesdays and Fridays from 2 p.m.- 6 p.m., the Holyoke Medical Center at 575 Beech St., the CVS on Whiting Farm Rd. by appointment only and Walgreens at Northampton St. also by appointment only.

He reported the city was the recipient of rapid tests kits from the state and “they are expected to be in the hands of local service organizations within the next week.”

Mertes, added that they are expecting 25,000 kits that will be distributed to mostly people in need, to schools and community service agencies. More information on how to access the kits will be available on the city’s website and social media accounts.

Mask Mandate

The mayor reiterated the necessity to “protect ourselves to prevent cases from increasing which is causing issues in other areas.” He added that this could prevent another mask mandate from being implemented. Garcia said, “It’s not the direction we want to go, but understand if we have to, my administration will mandate one if we have to.” As to when that may happen, he added, “If we don’t see anything different within the next few short weeks, there might be a good chance we’ll have to implement a mask mandate.”

Case Numbers and Hospitalizations

Mertes reiterated Garcia’s report on the increase of cases and responded to Baystate Medical Center’s recent plea about a rise in cases and hospitalizations. She said Baystate has reported that they are at “10 percent overcapacity.” She explained further, “Local communities, our responsibility is really do something in response to that.” However, she did note that, “of those people hospitalized, the death rate isn’t as high as it was.”

She explained that in the end of October they were seeing about 50 cases a week, to now 107 cases a week. Mertes explained that an area of concern is that of children ages five to 11, as only 6.9 percent of that age group in Holyoke are vaccinated, compared to 15 percent statewide. To that, Mertes said, “We can do better.” However, she said there are increasing vaccination rates for children 12-15 years old in Holyoke, with 46 percent vaccinated compared to 68 percent statewide.

COVID-19 in schools

Soto said, “Much of what we’ve done this year is keeping our kids in school.” But, he noted, “That this has been a very difficult year, and we’re asking a lot from our staff and students.” He reported promoting social distancing and reminding students to keep their masks above their noses. He also thanked the city for “investing over $1 million in ventilating the classrooms.” He said they have also invested a lot of money making sure the windows are functional so that they can be kept open regularly.

Soto said attendance rates pre-pandemic were 92 percent, and now the district is averaging 86 percent. He explained that to boost the attendance rate, they are asking families to keep their kids home if they’re sick. He did note, however that the district does have a test and stay program that’s designed to keep our kids in school and safe. He explained, “It’s an opt-in program for both students and staff. Asymptomatic students are allowed to attend school, test daily and test in the pool testing program. Or, if a student or staff is identified as a close contact, there is no need to quarantine for a week – they have the option to test right at school daily and continue with the learning.”

He said that there is “low participation in this program” and encouraged families to enroll in it so “they can keep their students in school.

Variants

Mertes addressed whether the new cases are delta or the omicron variant, and said, “It appears what we’re still dealing with is delta.”