NAHANT — Students at Johnson Elementary School will be donning masks when they return to school this fall.
In a Board of Selectmen meeting on Wednesday, Town Administrator Antonio Barletta delivered the news during his most recent COVID-19 update; he specified that masks must be worn inside of the school, adding that the mandate will also apply to guests entering the building.
Barletta mentioned that children’s hospitals are overwhelmed right now with COVID-19 cases. The reasoning behind the school’s requirement is to protect children who are unvaccinated, as they cannot receive the vaccine yet. Barletta said that essentially 100 percent of the student population at the Johnson School is unable to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“There is no vaccine or policy that is going to guarantee that you don’t contract COVID-19, but the vaccine significantly improves your chances of either not testing positive or having no symptoms, or symptoms that don’t require you to go into a hospital,” said Barletta.
Barletta added that even if residents are vaccinated, those who work with children should take necessary precautions.
“Our younger population that is unvaccinated because they’re ineligible, if you are interacting with that population at home, if you babysit kids that are under 12 years old, even if you are vaccinated, you should act as if you are not,” said Barletta.
Data from the beginning of the month shows that, as of Aug. 12, the town had 11 active cases of COVID-19, while 78 percent of residents are vaccinated.
“The data regarding current positive cases of COVID or the Delta variant shows that the vaccine is effective,” Barletta said. “It significantly decreases your chances of either testing positive or having significant symptoms and certainly decreases your chance of needing to be hospitalized.”
Barletta added that if residents have an underlying health condition, they should seriously consider wearing a mask.
