WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Board of Health on Monday decided to change its messaging on the use of face coverings in public indoor spaces in response to improving metrics on the spread of COVID-19 in the community.
The board, which never took the step of mandating face masks in town, authorized the health inspector to inform businesses that the board is no longer recommending that otherwise healthy individuals wear face coverings.
"Although the Board of Health has never had a masking mandate, at its March 14 meeting it stated that masking is a personal decision," Jeff Kennedy wrote in a message to local food and lodging establishments. "It is up to each establishment to have its own masking standards (if any), but should not discourage persons who want to wear a mask.
"The incidence of COVID is greatly diminished in Williamstown (and the Berkshires) and there is a high vaccination rate."
Board of Health Chair Ruth Harrison said the panel will continue to closely monitor the numbers for COVID-19 in town, but it is encouraged by the way the community has managed to keep transmission rates down.
"There are certain people who need to wear masks ... high risk people," Harrison said. "And there are still some health care facilities – we’d certainly back those having people wear masks."
And even in the general population, the board recognizes that there are people who might want to choose to take the extra precaution of wearing a face covering in public, Harrison said.
"It wouldn't be an individual thing going into that business," she said. "And people who choose to wear a mask shouldn’t be singled out. … We would hope that people wouldn't be criticized for wearing a mask. They should have that right."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control does recommend using a face covering indoors if you are not vaccinated or have a compromised immune system. Most communities and school district have lifted masking advisories and mandates by this week.
There were 46 positive cases countywide of the novel coronavirus reported over the weekend; Williamstown reported only 15 cases and a 14-day positivity rate of 0.43 percent for the two weeks ending March 5.
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New Ashford Fire Department Puts New Truck into Service
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
New Ashford Fire Department Chaplain J.D. Hebert gives an invocation on Saturday morning.
NEW ASHFORD, Mass. — With a blessing from its chaplain and a ceremonial dousing from a fire hose, the New Ashford Volunteer Fire Department on Saturday christened its first new apparatus in two decades.
The company purchased a 2003 HME Central States pumper from the town of Pelham earlier this year.
On Saturday, the department held a brief ceremony during which Chaplain J.D. Hebert blessed both the new engine and the company's turnout gear.
After the apparatus was sprayed with a hose, a handful of New Ashford's bravest helped push it as it was backed into the station on Ingraham Road.
Fire Chief Frank Speth said the new engine has a 1,500 gallon pump and carries 1,000 gallons of water. And it replaces a truck that was facing some costly repairs to keep on the road.
"We had a 1991 Spartan," Speth said. "When we had the pump tested, it needed about $40,000 worth of repairs. Being it's almost 30 years old, I said to the town, 'We put the $40,000 in, but then how many more years can we get out of it?'
"Once you get into the pump situation, you get into, 'This needs to be done, and this needs to be done,' and it could be more than $40,000. So do we want to spend that amount of money to repair that engine or get something that will replace it."
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Developer David Traggorth asked the trustees to make the contribution from its coffers to help unlock an additional $5.4 million in state funds for the planned 54-unit apartment building at the south end of the Cable Mills site.
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