PEABODY — Citing high transmission rates and struggles in hospital capacity, the Board of Health announced Thursday night it was extending the city’s mask mandate until Feb. 17.
Director of Health and Human Services Sharon Cameron said that even though COVID-19 cases in the city are trending lower than two weeks prior, the mandate will be in place to limit the spread of the virus.
“We felt data is trending in the right direction but the data is still showing high transmission (rates) and the hospital capacity is something of concern,” Cameron said.
The mask mandate was instituted by the board on Dec. 27, 2021 by a 3-0 vote. The vote, which was held virtually on Zoom, was met with both agreement and opposition from residents of Peabody who attended. The Board of Health will review the extension on Feb. 17.
During the meeting, Cameron presented data from Jan. 24, which displayed the city’s total COVID-19 cases, deaths, cases and positivity rates within 14 days and vaccination rates.
“There are 14,871 total cases, with 2,192 cases within the past 14 days and a total of 375 deaths,” Cameron said. “We had 10,955 tests in the past 14 days and a positivity rate of 21.48 percent.”
Eighty percent of residents have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 72 percent are fully vaccinated and 35 percent have received a booster dose.
Cameron also updated the board on changes to nationwide isolation and quarantine protocols. Originally if someone tested positive for COVID-19, the self-isolation period was 10 days. Per an update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Dec. 27, 2021, this isolation period has been shortened to a five-day quarantine if the person is asymptomatic or is no longer experiencing symptoms (without fever for 24 hours). After the five-day period, the CDC recommends continuing to wear a well-fitting mask for an additional five days.
“These are times when you wear a mask when you usually don’t, such as when you go outside,” Cameron explained.
Changes to quarantine protocols are similar. Those who have been exposed to COVID-19 who are fully vaccinated and have tested negative for COVID do not have to quarantine but should adhere to the strict masking requirements. Those who are not fully vaccinated should quarantine for a minimum of five days and then receive negative test results.
The Baker-Polito administration announced on Jan. 11 that an order was placed with iHealth for the state to receive 26-million rapid antigen tests over the next three months. These tests will be prioritized to support K-12 schools and childcare settings.
Cameron said the city will be participating in this contact-testing program, and students who opt into it will be testing every Sunday using rapid antigen tests provided by the state.
“What will happen is that families who have decided to opt into the program will receive rapid tests from home kits,” said Cameron. “Every Sunday will have testing for those (who are) symptomatic and asymptomatic.”
