MONTAGUE — The Selectboard voted Monday not to extend the public mask mandate that expired March 1 and also to lift the mask mandate within town-owned buildings that was set to expire April 4, heeding last week’s Board of Health recommendation.
The discussion was brief during Monday’s joint Selectboard and Board of Health meeting. The vote to end both mandates, which was unanimous, was also supported by Police Chief Christopher Williams.
“Everything is going in the absolute right direction and it’s a very exciting place to be,” Board of Health member Michael Nelson commented.
The vote comes following consideration of the recent decline in COVID-19 cases. The Health Department’s weekly COVID-19 report, which was released Monday, recorded 11 positive COVID-19 cases in the week from Feb. 20 to Feb. 26, bringing the two-week rolling case count to 24 when combined with the previous week’s 13 recorded cases. This is the lowest two-week case count in Montague since mid-November when there was a two-week total of 18 cases.
“I hope this is the last time we have this conversation in a very long time,” Nelson said.
“If we continue this trend,” Chair Rich Kuklewicz replied with a smile, “I hope we keep it to a short discussion.”
Council on Aging Director Roberta Potter requested the Selectboard permit the Gill-Montague Senior Center to continue requiring masks for guests who aren’t vaccinated. The Selectboard agreed.
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.