DEERFIELD — Going against the trend of other southernmost Franklin County towns, the Deerfield Selectboard/Board of Health did not issue a mask mandate for town buildings during its Wednesday meeting.
The neighboring towns of Conway, Sunderland and Whately have all announced mask mandates for town buildings in the previous two weeks as COVID-19 cases have begun rising. Eight Deerfield residents have tested positive for the virus in the past two weeks, according to the latest report on the state Department of Public Health’s dashboard.
Board of Health Chair Carolyn Shores Ness said there have been a “steady amount” of cases each week, but those have been isolated in households. She added about one-third of those cases have been in children, but the virus has not spread across town.
“Our numbers are not reflective of community transmission,” Shores Ness said at the meeting. “That’s why we’re not requiring a mask mandate or shutting down town buildings.”
Shores Ness urged residents to “layer” their protection against the virus using a combination of vaccines, masks and social distancing.
Approximately 76% of Deerfield’s population is fully vaccinated, according to state data, which can be inaccurate because it is based on ZIP codes, not town boundaries. For example, state data says 2,442 people are fully vaccinated in Shelburne, despite its population being listed as 1,831.
Shores Ness told the Greenfield Recorder Deerfield’s low number of cases is due to the high vaccination rate in town, especially among its 12- to 16-year-old group, of which 45 percent are already fully vaccinated.
“Part of it has been people have been very good at getting vaccinations,” Shores Ness said in a phone interview. “It’s truly our under 12s that are high risk right now.”
Shores Ness said the town is “confident each cluster” in each household has been contained. If the virus begins to spread into the community, she said the Selectboard/Board of Health will issue a mask mandate.
“We’re watching the data,” Shores Ness said. “When there is community transmission we will have an emergency meeting and vote to have a mask mandate. … At this moment the data is not there.”
The Board of Health is asking residents to “continue to be cautious.” Shores Ness said the data is in a good place right now, but as the calendar turns to fall and winter and more residents are spending time indoors, numbers are expected to increase.
“We are 100% on top of our cases immediately as they come in. Within a few hours everything has been contact traced,” Shores Ness noted. “As the weather gets cold, we’re going to have more issues I’m sure.”
She said she understands why people are hesitant to return to masking in all buildings, but that masks protect everyone in the case of high community transmission.
“If everybody is using a mask and it’s part of layering your protection with the vaccine, it’s effective,” Shores Ness said. “They’re awful, but getting COVID is worse.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.