SAUGUS — Heading into the fall, COVID-19 cases are increasing at a rate that will have some residents worried.
According to the Saugus Health Department, 74 residents have died since the beginning of the pandemic; the town has reported 76 new cases of COVID-19 in the last seven days. The town’s caseload now stands at 4,495.
Board of Selectmen member Debra Panetta said that the rise in numbers has her concerned.
“I think it’s appalling that our numbers are increasing the way they are and the residents need to take precautions if you haven’t been vaccinated,” said Panetta. “I would encourage people to get vaccinated. I know everybody in my household is vaccinated.”
Town Manager Scott Crabtree also expressed his concern with the latest numbers that were released, but noted that the rise in cases is not unexpected.
“I think back in the spring, at the beginning of the summer when things were opened up and the numbers were doing very well, the town did put out caution,” said Crabtree.
“I think that’s basically what the experts, scientists, and doctors have explained in the U.S. I think we’re in a situation now with what was predicted back in the beginning of the summer and the spring,” he added.
The rise in cases comes at a time when children are returning to school across the commonwealth; as the fall and winter months approach, it will also increase the amount of time that people spend indoors.
Panetta said that this is the time of the year that Massachusetts residents typically get the flu. While the selectman said she doesn’t like wearing a mask, she is willing to do so in order to improve safety in the community.
“I am going to do whatever I feel is necessary to keep me and my family safe,” Panetta said. “Like I said before, I do not like wearing masks. If I have to I will, especially if it comes down to a mandatory mask requirement like it was before.”
Panetta added that she feels bad for the children in schools who have to wear masks, but understands their role in preventing the virus.
“I think we were all hoping that after (what) everybody had to go through, either wearing the masks, or constantly sanitizing everything, anything that came into your home you were sanitizing,” she said. “We got to the point where whatever clothes we were wearing you would immediately throw them into the washer as soon as you got home.
“All of your groceries would be sanitized, anything that came into your house, you were wiping down with a Clorox wipe and we stopped doing that. I stopped doing that… For us to have to go back that way again, it’s going to make it very difficult,” she added.
Crabtree said residents need to be cautious as they enter this time of year, when the flu, sickness, and now COVID-19 becomes more prevalent.
“I think we have to continue to use due diligence,” he said. “Obviously the experts are encouraging people to be vaccinated and to continue to use caution. We would just urge people to follow the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and state and local guidelines for the safety of yourself, your family, and for other residents and citizens of the commonwealth.”
