SWAMPSCOTT — The Board of Health voted Wednesday to rescind the emergency order enacted in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as all of the other emergency orders following that.
Public Health Nurse Neia Illingsworth told the board that, in the past seven weeks, the town has seen only one new case of the virus, bringing the total number of cases over the course of the pandemic to 1,166.
The slowing of new cases is in part due to the high vaccination rates in Swampscott. As of July 15, 81 percent of the total eligible population in town has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The age groups with the highest vaccination rate are adults between 65-74 and 30-49, of which 95 percent are vaccinated (the state does not share statistics above 95 percent, making this the highest possible rate). Ninety-one percent of residents aged 16-19 and 50-64 are vaccinated and 89 percent of residents 20-29 are vaccinated. The rate for adults over 75 is 87 percent and for children ages 12-15 is 83 percent.
The town has not yet made a decision on whether it will require masks in the town’s public schools come September. The board is waiting for the state to issue guidance on this topic before making a final decision.
