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Date: 1/6/2021
EASTHAMPTON – During a busy holiday season, the Easthampton Health Department wanted to make sure that they were doing their part in educating the public on staying healthy.
The department’s Facebook page posted daily reminders, tips, facts, and updates regarding the coronavirus called “Holiday Season COVID-19 Reminders.” The town’s health agent, Brianna Eichstaedt said that the department decided on doing this because during contact tracing or just talking with the public, they were noticing that people had the wrong information or they were noticing that people who were experiencing symptoms were not quarantining while they waited for their test results.
Eichstaedt said they wanted to take a step back from regulating and try to improve their education. She shared that Councilman Owen Zaret, Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, and the Board of Health Chair Maggie Hebert helped her with this idea as well.
Eichstaedt said at the beginning of this idea, she was nervous that she would run out of topics to share but as they went on, more information came out about the vaccine, Baker’s guidelines changed, and they continued to post what they found the public did not know.
“For example, a lot of people thought that if they were close contact and got a negative test, then they could end quarantine right then and there but you actually have to finish out the quarantine period regardless of a negative test,” she said.
The reminders ranged from how contract tracing works, definitions of isolation and quarantine, and information on the vaccine.
Eichstaedt also shared that there was an incentive to encourage people to share their posts that way it could reach double the audience. People who shared their posts were entered to win a $50 Chamber of Commerce gift card that can be redeemed at any local participating Chamber businesses.
Despite Eichstaedt ending this campaign by the new year, she believes that it went well and will continue to post depending on their staffing and what capacity they have to focus their attention on it.