Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 12/21/2021
NORTHAMPTON – During a meeting over Zoom on Dec. 16, the Northampton Board of Health decided to maintain the mask mandate that requires all residents, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks while in indoor spaces. The mandate was implemented in August.
Additionally, however, the Board of Health decided to send out a mass message to food service establishments and the public that strongly recommends people to wear masks when they are not sitting down and eating or drinking. The move comes as the city continues to see COVID-19 numbers rise on a 14-day basis, and as the omicron variant looms.
During the meeting, Merridith O’Leary, director of the city’s Health Department, further encouraged residents to not gather in large crowds if possible during the holidays, especially since a continual rise in COVID-19 cases is imminent over the coming weeks.
“I think the stronger message is for people to just not go to larger indoor gatherings,” said O’Leary, during the meeting. “I think that’s going to be more effective than anything.”
The board and O’Leary mentioned the fatigue people are feeling regarding the pandemic, and the fact that there has been an overall habit of ignoring the growing number of cases due to this high level of exhaustion across the city and county. “We’re in a far worse place than we were a year ago,” said O’Leary. “The hospitalizations I know have been down, but they’re going back up.” Right now,
Northampton has 12 COVID-19 patients who are checked into the city’s hospital – the most in a year, according to board chair and Cooley Dickinson disease specialist Joanne Levin. Five of them have no vaccine dose, three of them had one shot, four had a full series, and none of the patients had boosters.
“Transmission definitely is curtailed to a good extent by the booster,” said Levin. “And I think there’s more information out from the scientists that are saying that it is very likely that-even with Omicron-vaccination, especially with a booster, protect against hospitalization and death.”
“I’m afraid things will start closing because [businesses] won’t have enough employees to run their business … it could be crippling,” added O’Leary, referring to a probable rise in cases in the future.
To date, the number of COVID-19 cases in Northampton is 2,050, and in the past 14 days-as of press time-there were 160 cases in the city. The rate during the time between Dec. 1 and 14 was 39 cases per day per thousand. O’Leary compared that to the incident rate to Northampton’s last large surge of COVID-19 cases, which was the first week after Christmas at the end of 2020.
“That’s humbling to say those numbers out loud and think about all of the work we have ahead of us” said O’Leary, who added that the Omicron variant has not been reported in Northampton or in surrounding communities.
Currently, 89 percent of Northampton residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 76 percent are fully vaccinated. The city’s vaccine clinic has administered 40,000 vaccines to date. The city hosts about eight to 10 vaccine clinics per week. No vaccine clinic will be conducted between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3, 2022, but the Health Department is expecting to open up a PCR walk-up test site on Mondays and Fridays most likely beginning on Jan. 3, 2022.
Additionally, the board also discussed the possibility of a vaccine mandate for businesses, but they felt that it would be better to discuss this at the next meeting when they have more information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding booster mandates, and to make sure people come for public comment. A petition is going around on social media asking people to sign for a vaccine mandate to be implemented in restaurants and bars. As of press time, 302 people have signed.
On Jan. 17, 2022, the Northampton Senior Center will require that guests complete the COVID-19 vaccine series to use the facility.
The Board of Health also strongly encourages seniors to receive the booster shot, as the board is seeking to add a second date in the future for when a mandate is required to get the booster to use the facility.