LYNN — City Councilors say it’s up to the mayor and health department to determine the city’s response to the recent coronavirus surge, but if the council vice-president was making the decisions, he would take a more aggressive approach.
On Tuesday, Mayor Thomas M. McGee outlined some measures the city was beginning to implement this week to combat the latest surge and revealed that he was weighing reinstituting an overnight curfew and implementing a mandate that would require face masks to be worn outside at all times.
But Council Vice President Buzzy Barton said the situation in Lynn, which has become the city with the worst outbreak in the state, calls for more drastic action.
“It’s not the councilors’ call,” said Barton. “It’s the mayor’s and the health department and the emergency management (team) who makes that call. But if it was my call, I would be taking a hard look at shutting the city down. I think it’s time we start getting active on that. We’ve got to make some big changes.”
In the past several weeks, Lynn has emerged as the center of the coronavirus — the city has the highest positive test rate in the state over the past 14 days. At 6.08 percent, the city’s positive rate is more than 4.5 times higher than the state average of 1.3, according to the state Department of Public Health.
With case numbers continuing to rise — 15 new cases and an additional death were reported on Thursday — Barton said the city needs to get the outbreak under control, noting that the only way that was accomplished earlier in the year was by shutting the city down.
“This is all new to everybody and we’ve got to figure this out,” said Barton. “They have a committee that does that kind of stuff and they try to figure it out. We’re No. 1 in the state. I think it’s time we get more proactive.”
Council President Darren Cyr said that while he and other members of the City Council are not involved in the discussions about potential measures to control the virus surge, the mayor does ask for their opinion and keeps them informed before making his decisions public.
“I’m in support of the mayor and the health department and the decisions they’re making,” said Cyr. “I really truly believe he’s doing it for the citizens, residents, for everyone’s health and welfare. Until he’s not, that’s when I’ll step in. I really truly believe he’s got the best interest at heart for everyone.”
Cyr said a lot of the problem revolves around residents who have been flouting the restrictions that are already in place. Many people have not been wearing masks, social distancing and avoiding large social gatherings, which has contributed to the spread, he said.
Since the city’s contact tracing efforts show that much of the recent spike is due to people holding social gatherings, such as house parties and showers, or playing contact sports like basketball in large numbers in parks, Cyr said he felt compelled to close Tuesday’s City Council meeting with some remarks aimed at deterring the public from those activities.
“It’s such a diverse city that people have got to really realize and understand the severity of this disease and the problem that it’s causing,” said Cyr. “We’re trying to reach everybody that lives in the city, to get them to understand you have to wear masks, stop going to parties, cookouts.”
While some of the problem may be due to a lack of awareness from people who don’t follow the news, Cyr said a lot of it comes down to common sense.
“I think it’s ridiculous people act like we’re taking their freedom away from them,” said Cyr. “What really needs to be done is common sense across the board. If everyone uses just a little bit of common sense, we wouldn’t be having the situations we have.
“If you don’t have to go out, stay in. Quarantine yourself. It starts at the top. The federal government. The president — he’s got to be a better leader when it comes to this. It’s that simple.”
Councilor-at-Large Brian LaPierre said people became too complacent in the city when numbers started to decline in late spring, which has contributed to the recent surge. People know the rules — they’re just not following them, he said.
“I think we really have to toughen up as a community and really do as much as we can wearing masks, social distancing, really kick it up a notch,” said LaPierre. “I think we’ve let our guard down and of course the virus doesn’t let its guard down.”
Given the severity of the outbreak in Lynn, LaPierre, director of organization for the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, said it’s “unconscionable” to him that public school teachers in Lynn are being asked to return their school buildings next week for professional development.
LaPierre, whose wife is a schoolteacher in Lynn, is in support of the Lynn Teachers Union, which is pushing for educators to be given the option to teach remotely this fall.
“I don’t know why we’re so adamant that (teaching) must be done on the school site,” said LaPierre. “With no children being on site, why in the world are we sending our educators in?”
Like Cyr, LaPierre said the City Council was going to take its lead from the mayor, in terms of coronavirus response.
This week, McGee announced the city was reestablishing its enforcement and compliance team, which would work with police and the law department to perform spot checks on businesses, and issue $500 fines to individuals who have been identified as hosting large gatherings at their homes.
Hoops have been removed at basketball courts throughout the city and sports and events have been banned from Manning and Fraser fields indefinitely, according to McGee.
“Quite frankly, we want to be involved,” said LaPierre. “We want to do our part. At the same time, we have to take our lead from the mayor and his emergency management team. Ultimately, we want the cases to subside and have people abide by the protocols that have been laid out to get this thing under control.”
