MONTAGUE — The Selectboard unanimously voted to reinstate a mandatory mask mandate for all indoor spaces accessible by the public at its Monday meeting.
The mandate, which goes into effect Oct. 4, was approved through a motion by newly elected Selectboard member Matthew Lord following recent Selectboard/Board of Health joint meetings. Between now and Oct. 4, the town aims to smooth out logistics and prepare businesses.
The inclusivity of the mandate spans greater than what had been recommended by the Board of Health following its Sept. 22 meeting. Heading into Monday’s Selectboard meeting, the Board of Health opted to recommend a mandate for municipal buildings, arguing that a wider mandate was not yet necessary based on the town’s number of positive COVID-19 cases.
The Selectboard’s discussion began with addressing the Board of Health’s recommendation to mandate masks in municipal buildings, which the board quickly approved. After Selectboard Chair Richard Kuklewicz and Vice Chair Christopher Boutwell suggested passing discussion of a broader mandate onto the Board of Health, Lord made his motion to make the mask mandate apply to all indoor spaces accessible by the public.
“I’ll make a motion to adopt a mask mandate for Montague,” Lord said. “Mostly, I want to put it on the floor and get some debate. I’d like to hear how everybody responds to that. If the board is not ready there, I would certainly understand that.”
After Boutwell seconded Lord’s motion, Lord opted to explain his reasoning.
“One of the motivating factors is that we have neighboring communities that we’re tied very closely to, particularly Gill and Greenfield, that have mask mandates in place and have high case count numbers,” Lord said. “If they, our neighboring communities, have imposed a mask mandate and have decreased this rate of spread, I would like to show some solidarity with the folks there in terms of Montague being invested and helping protect the health not just of the people here, but … we’re willing to work with the neighboring communities.”
Public Health Director Daniel Wasiuk referred to the narrower mandate, specifically for municipal buildings, as “a good starting point.”
“Board (of Health) members did take into account a lot of factors to make their decision … but I do not believe they felt that the level of active cases were enough to justify a decision to do a mask mandate for indoor settings here in town,” Wasiuk said.
The Montague Health Department’s weekly update provided Monday showed 15 positive COVID-19 cases recorded between Sept. 19 and Sept. 25, a seven-case uptick from the eight cases recorded between Sept. 12 and Sept. 18. Out of these newest cases, three people were fully vaccinated, two were partially vaccinated and 10 were unvaccinated. Three people were between the ages of 18 and 35, two between ages 36 and 49, one between ages 50 and 64, two between ages 65 and 80, two ages 81 and over, and five juveniles.
As of Sept. 23, 63% of Franklin County residents are fully vaccinated and 71% have received at least one dose, according to the latest data from the state Department of Public Health.
When it came time to vote, the Selectboard unanimously voted to implement the mandate for all indoor spaces accessible by the public. Other Franklin County towns that have issued the same mandate include Greenfield, Conway, Buckland, Leyden, Charlemont, Gill, Rowe, Shelburne and Sunderland.
“I think that, given the information, it is a prudent thing for this board to do,” Kuklewicz said, “so I’m going to vote in favor of issuing a town-wide mask mandate not just to protect myself, but to protect others around me.”
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.