Belmont implements emergency indoor mask mandate

BELMONT, Mass. — Earlier this summer, it was as if Covid-19 took an extended vacation from Belmont. For 22 days, the town saw no cases, said Health Director Wesley Chin, MPH. And then came the Fourth of July.

“Two weeks ago we had four cases that came through, and then last week we had 21,” Chin said. “We picked up nine cases over the weekend.”

And there’s something troubling about those cases.

“Generally speaking, the cases do seem to be trending in the younger population,” Chin said. “We’re seeing some more in kids who can’t yet be vaccinated, so that’s of concern to us. And then we’re seeing the breakthrough cases.”

Ultimately, it was those breakthrough cases -- and their possible implications --  that prompted the Select Board and Board of Health to enact a town mask mandate that not only covers municipal buildings but any indoor public space-- including restaurants, bars, retail shops, and gyms.

“With CDC’s guidance saying that fully vaccinated people can transmit the virus to each other or to unvaccinated people -- that’s where the board decided it was time to be proactive and do something,” Chin said.

“I trust the town,” said Katherine Venzke, owner of Helena’s Boutique, one of dozens of downtown businesses affected by the mandate. “I think that they have looked at what’s happening in the community, what’s happening across the country and made the decision for the safety of the town, for the safety of the business owners we’re going to be masking up again and I’m okay with that.”

As to whether masking up might affect business?

“I hope it doesn’t,” Venzke said. “You know, this town shops local and I’m hoping that’s a deeply held belief to shop local and that there’s not just a low threshold for a discomfort of going back to masks.”

Last spring, when the statewide mask mandate ended, Rancatore’s Ice Cream shop, another downtown business, continued to require customers to wear masks for several weeks longer, out of consideration for some customers.

“Because we do have a lot of kids in here and kids under 12 can’t get the vaccine,” said Lilikoi Bronson, who, as an employee, has no problem masking up at a time when cases are surging.  “I think it’s better to have masks and protect everyone than to not wear masks and potentially have someone who’s immunocompromised get the virus and they would have a much worse deal of it than I probably would.”

“I feel like it’s the right thing to do with the Delta variant,” said Ellie Doblin, who was dining outdoors with friend Adina Ornstein. “I’m sick of everything, honestly, with this pandemic. So I’m willing to wear a mask if it means we can get over it faster.”

Ornstein added, “If we know that masks work, then I think that’s what we should be doing.”

Sisters Mary and Katy Jones say they’re willing to be team players to stop the virus.

“I don’t love it. But I’m going to deal with it,” Katy Jones said.

“I think in the long run it will help us get back to having more freedom so I think for now it’s a good option,” said Mary Jones.

For George Grant, mask-wearing has become, of late, second nature.

“My mother is in a nursing home and I see her quite a lot these days,” he said. “So I’m masking up as much as possible just to avoid any chance I could transmit it into that environment.”

But some are suffering pandemic whiplash with the back-and-forth on masks.

“It seems like the doctors are not on the same page or anything as far as the science and stuff,” said Sean Gallagher.

Laurent Dubois studied the science -- and the vaccination statistics -- and figured months ago it was best he just stays masked.

“Not enough people have been vaccinated,” Dubois said. “My second issue is people cannot be vaccinated because of a health issue and wearing my mask gives them a chance.”

Chin said Belmont’s mask mandate will stay in place until the town achieves a low to moderate Covid transmission rate, as defined by the CDC, for two weeks. At the moment, Chin said transmission is trending towards ‘high.’

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