MONTAGUE — The Board of Health voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend the Selectboard lift the mask mandate for both publicly accessible buildings and town-owned buildings, effective March 1, following a decrease in COVID-19 positivity rates in town and beyond.
The Selectboard implemented Montague’s latest mandate, which went into effect Dec. 22, 2021, for all indoor public spaces and businesses after a spike of 47 new positive COVID-19 cases was recorded in Montague the week prior to the board’s Dec. 20 decision. A mandate specifically for town-owned buildings had gone into effect on Dec. 13.
Board of Health member Michael Nelson said he had intended to follow Greenfield’s lead as Montague deliberated how to move, but the board was taken aback by what Chair Al Cummings described as an “abrupt” decision by Greenfield Mayor Roxann Wedegartner to lift the city-wide mandate, effective immediately, on Feb. 18.
“I had anticipated that maybe we could line our dates up together with Greenfield,” Nelson said, “but obviously, they have already rescinded their mandate.”
Health Director Daniel Wasiuk reported that Montague had 42 active COVID-19 cases between Feb. 6 and Feb. 19, the town’s lowest mark in its two-week rolling case count since it recorded 39 cases in late November. Thirteen cases were recorded in the week from Feb. 13 to Feb. 19.
Wasiuk and Board of Health members expressed their intent to appear at the next Selectboard meeting on Monday in full capacity. Board of Health members recently been criticized by the public and Selectboard Chair Rich Kuklewicz over their minimal presence at Selectboard meetings throughout the winter’s influx in COVID-19 cases.
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.