Health

Plymouth ‘COVID ambassadors’ gently remind people of mask mandates

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — It’s all in a day’s work for Bob McMakin, as one of the new COVID Ambassadors in Plymouth.

He asks a maskless man: “Do you have a mask sir?”

The man walking his dogs said, “No.”

McMakin said, “Would you like one?”

The man answered, “Sure.”

That’s the usual reply.

McMakin tells Boston 25, “My job tonight is to drive around and walk around and look for people who aren’t wearing masks.”

Plymouth now is a yellow zone but was in red zone a few weeks back. He says, “We had a problem. People got lax and tired of COVID.”

Local health officials wanted to do all they could to get people to follow state guidelines so they hired the security company Pilgrim Security and Consulting to be COVID Ambassadors. McMakin says, “That’s the main reason just to let people know: Don’t forget to wear your mask.”

But there are still people who didn’t remember including another man. McMakin asks, “Do you have a mask sir?”

This man says he simply forgot like we all have adding, “A couple of times I’ve gone into Stop & Shop and I’m halfway through and I wonder why people are looking at me and I forgot my mask.”

COVID Ambassadors drive around in a car focusing on the waterfront, Court Street and two parks including the skateboard park where most skaters were happy to put on a mask including Brian Wilson who said, “Like I said, I’m all for it, I’m for everyone’s safety.”

Earlier, McMakin handed out several masks here to younger people at the park and he says in the week since this started more and more people are complying.

“It’s just forgetfulness or they didn’t bring one with them and we give them away free. We hand everybody a mask who wants one,” he said.

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