Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 12/27/2021
SOUTH HADLEY – The South Hadley Board of Health and the South Hadley Selectboard hosted a joint meeting to discuss the possibility of implementing a mask mandate for private indoor spaces on Dec. 14.
The Town of South Hadley currently has a mask mandate for all indoor public spaces such as government buildings until at least Jan. 15. Private indoor spaces, such as restaurants and bars, only have a mask advisory. Businesses are allowed to enforce masking at their own discretion.
Town officials and the Chamber of Commerce reached out to local businesses to ask for their opinions on a mask mandate. Town Administrator Lisa Wong read the survey responses during the meeting.
According to Wong, they received 68 responses from businesses about masks. The businesses ranged from restaurants, offices, retail stores and more. In the survey, 55.9 percent said that they currently do not require masks.
When asked if they believe that a mask advisory and not a mandate is adequate at this time, 67.6 percent said yes. 73.5 percent of surveyed businesses responded that they would not support a mask mandate in South Hadley.
An overwhelming majority, 75 percent, of businesses said they believe that masks and mask enforcement should be left to individual workplaces to determine.
Selectboard member Sarah Etelman spoke up to say that she received very different responses from residents. According to Etelman, many of those who emailed her since the last Selectboard meeting expressed a desire for a mask mandate.
She said that about 95 percent of emails were in favor and that they mostly came from customers and not business owners.
“What it boils down to is that residents in South Hadley who are in favor of a mask mandate are very quietly not shopping and not doing business in South Hadley and they are going to where they feel safe,” said Etelman.
With the current mask advisory, the Board of Health continues to monitor COVID-19 at every meeting. Chair Johanna Ravenhurst said that they keep an eye on local COVID-19 trends, rising cases, vaccination rates and more.
Both members of the Board of Health and the Selectboard brought up the topic of enforcement. Many members asked how a mask mandate would be enforced, especially given the lack of state support they have now that Massachusetts is not under a state of emergency.
Ravenhurst brought forward an idea to forgo a town-wide mask mandate and help and support the businesses who have a mask mandate on their own instead.
She voiced the idea of advertising these businesses with mask mandates on the town website and providing clear information to people who choose to support businesses who require masks. She also said that it could be helpful to ask Big Y to bring back hours for immunocompromised individuals where masks are required for shopping.
Ravenhurst stated that she wasn’t convinced the town needed a new mandate at this time.
“From my perspective, there’s no question in my mind that masking does reduce transmission of COVID-19. What I am considering right now is whether South Hadley switching from a mask advisory for businesses to a mask mandate would significantly reduce our COVID-19 transmission in our community. And, at this point, I’m not convinced that we’re seeing sufficient transmission from that type of source,” she said.
After more discussion, a majority of members of both the Board of Health and Selectboard agreed that a new mask mandate could be beneficial given the holidays, the rise in COVID-19 cases and the rapidly spreading omicron variant.
The Board of Health voted to move forward with writing a regulation for a mask mandate. The regulation will now be sent to the Selectboard to review.
After a review, there will be a public hearing and then the Board of Health will officially vote on the mandate. If imposed, the Board of Health emphasized that they would reassess the mandate every four to six weeks.
The public hearing was set for Dec. 21 at 6 p.m., however the results of that meeting were not available by press time.
Those interested in viewing the joint Board of Health and Selectboard meeting are encouraged to visit the South Hadley Community Television page.