Natick seeks to fight COVID fatigue as numbers head in wrong direction

May 11, 2022 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

Natick Public Health Director Michael Boudreau ticked off a list of COVID-19 numbers at the Board of Health meeting on Wednesday that confirmed what many of us know personally or anecdotally: The virus is making yet another comeback.

Natick’s rate of new cases per 100,00 people over 14 days is up to 40.7, above the state’s rate of 32.5, and positivity percentage rate for PCR tests in Natick is up to 7.96%, also well above the state average.

At the Natick Public Schools, COVID numbers are up as much as 50% at some schools, and not at all in others, Supt. Dr. Anna Nolin told the Board of Health. There has been no confirmed school-based transmission of late, according to a slide presented by Boudreau.

Fortunately, rising case counts and positivity rates aren’t translating into troubling hospitalization or death data in town.

But rising numbers will result in Natick Public Schools turning to its flex mask policy and strongly encouraging its community to return to masks until the current surge subsides, Nolin said. “I think people are waiting to hear from us on that, and so we would like to recommend that again,” she said, noting that home tests are still being sent home with kids and are being used.

Nolin said she feared things might actually be worse by now with COVID in the schools. “There’s a fatigue with the isolation and people are fully committing back to social events,” she said.

The personal responsibility of school community members will be tested, Nolin said, as students will be forced to make decisions to attend important events like prom based on their health. The school system is coaching its community on what personal responsibility means in this context, from monitoring systems to following protocols if infected.

As for the town, Boudreau’s plan is to refresh messaging within the community to ensure people don’t dismiss posters and other materials that they might assume has been up there for months. The town will work with its own departments as well as local businesses to spread the message, and pledges to reach out to those who need the latest information on protocols to follow if sick.

Boudreau started the meeting by pointing to relatively low vaccine booster levels in town (57%) vs. fully vaccinated residents (87%). His department is exploring possibly hosting or co-hosting clinics to encourage more residents to get boosted, though acknowledged intelligence from nearby communities that have done booster clinics is that participation has been low. With those age 12 and up now eligible for boosters, though, Boudreau said he’s optimistic booster numbers will rise.

The community needs to face the fact that “COVID is not going to be eradicated…It’s going to be here, we’re still going to see mutations,” he said.

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Natick Board of Health letting town mask mandate expire Feb. 28; schools to wait

February 15, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Natick Board of Health drew what might be considered a capacity crowd—60ish people—at 5pm on a Tuesday afternoon as it met online to discuss the town’s mask mandate among other topics, including COVID-19 numbers. A chat that was live during the first part of the meeting was shut off as people got increasingly fired up.

The board meeting took place shortly after the state’s Department of Public Health loosened its face covering guidance, specifying that vaccinated people only need to wear masks indoors under certain conditions or in specific places.

Some residents who zoomed in to the Natick board meeting wanted the town to dump the mask mandate it put into effect on Jan. 17 amidst the rise of Omicron as of today. They cited the “psyches” of students and questioned the efficacy of masks at this point. But the Board voted unanimously to let its mandate expire instead on Feb. 28, which was the original end date.

Director of Public Health Michael Boudreau who shared the latest Natick COVID-19-related data during the meeting, was on board with that.

“I would remove the mask mandate for the general public buildings and for municipal buildings. Given the trends that we have seen, given the trend that everything is going down, our vaccination rates are high, that there is a certain level of COVID fatigue and people would like to have it removed,” he said. Boudreau added that he’d like to see the town reinforce a strong recommendation to wear masks as appropriate, and the board agreed.

This would be “appealing to people’s better nature, and to use their judgment,” he said.

While the state has given public schools the go ahead to lift the mask mandate locally at the end of this month, Natick Public Schools Supt. Dr. Anna Nolin originally proposed March 7 as a possible day for the schools to move away from the mandate and adopt what some districts are calling “a flex mask culture” that could include masking in certain situations that the school community would be educated about. She noted masks remain a requirement on buses and in health offices.

“That culture needs to respect personal family values and decision making at this point in the pandemic,” she said. “There are some families that are still going to have vulnerable populations and we would need to make accommodations for those people through the normal ways we did pre-pandemic.”

While Nolin noted that some other schools in the area have lifted mask mandates, she justified the proposed March 7 date for Natick as a way to allow for the schools to gauge where its COVID rates are following next weeks’ school vacation and subsequent antigen testing. She said the topic will be discussed at upcoming School Committee meetings.

The Board of Health voted to pick up this issue at its next meeting, slated for March 15.

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Natick mask mandate goes into effect Jan. 17

January 13, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Natick’s Health Department has put a mask mandate into effect come Monday, Jan. 17 through Feb. 28.

You’ll be required to wear a face covering or mask if you’re two or older in all indoor public spaces or private spaces open to the public. There is an exception for those unable to wear a face covering due to a medical condition or disability.

The mandate applies to facilities such as restaurants, retail establishments, houses of worship, gyms and indoor fitness centers, performance spaces and theaters, lodging, and personal services establishments. You can take off your mask while eating in a restaurant. The mandate doesn’t apply to private businesses that aren’t public-facing, and they can put in place their own policies.

“We have seen public health metrics trending in the wrong direction over the past several weeks. This, coupled with the CDC’s recommendation for indoor masking in Middlesex County, informs the decision to institute this mandate,” according to the town.

The list of communities across the state imposing similar rules is on the rise.

A civil fine of up to $300 can be issued in Natick to anyone not complying after verbal and written warnings.

Nearby, Wellesley has resisted a mask mandate to this point, with Board of Health members concerned about the mixed messages masks can send depending upon the type of masks people wear and how they wear them.

Natick resident finds way to connect community with COVID resources

January 4, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Natick resident Abby Brown, like many parents, has been facing down a certain level of anxiety over sending her 4- and 7-year olds to school as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 surges. As a way of funneling that anxiety toward something useful, Brown, an economist, started Natick COVID Mutual Aid, a Facebook group for Natick residents that she hopes will serve as a way to “help people be intentional about sharing resources.”

As administrator of the page, Brown crafted the following description: “At home COVID tests are a key way to prevent transmission chains, but they are in short supply. Members of this group are committed to helping Natick reduce the spread of COVID through sharing resources, particularly at-home COVID tests, high-quality masks, and information about testing and vaccine sites.”

Brown got the idea for the group while scrolling through her own feeds. “I was noticing on social media groups a lot of people were looking for tests and sharing information how to buy them.” She thought that by creating a space where the Natick community could be intentional about sharing resources, a community connection could be fostered and serve as one more tool to help people live and work more safely during the pandemic.

If one person in town has 100 tests, because hey, they’re great planners, and another person in town has no tests because, hey, they’re super busy/couldn’t afford them/got caught unaware, Brown figured there must be a way to encourage a mutual aid society of sorts.

“Let’s reduce our sense of scarcity,” she says. “If people can’t get tests, they’ll just go ahead and do what they’re going to do.” But if they can get tests, transmission of the Omicron variant can be slowed because people who know they have COVID don’t want to infect others, she says, and will be more likely to isolate for the five days recommended by the CDC.

The COVID FB page has over 400 members (update Jan. 17, 2022…membership up over 850). A quick look reflects that the sense of comradeship Brown hoped would come about has, indeed, developed. Members are not a grabby group. One poster mentioned having multiples of a hard-to-find item. Responders asked if she could spare one or two. Another poster supplied time-saving information about reputable supply sources, and those that allow you to fill your shopping cart but don’t mention until point-of-sale that the items are not in stock. And yes, even requests for the ever-elusive rapid PCR tests have been honored.

“It seems like people are getting in the spirit,” Brown says. “But I have no idea what to expect. Will [the page] become overrun by trolls? Will the government send 30 tests to everyone in America for free, so then the FB page is no longer needed?”

In a way, Brown is approaching this as not only an exercise in civics, but as an intellectual pursuit. “I have long-term curiosity about mutual aid,” she says. Also, she notes, “I’m trying to deal with my own anxiety” by helping connect others.

Natick COVID Mutual Aid is a private group that is accepting members. Brown says Natick residents should request to join if they want to if they want to help others, or if they need help themselves.

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Natick school COVID closures: Could be like snow days

December 30, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

With rising COVID-19 cases across the state during the school holiday break, administrators have a real challenge in figuring out what shape students and staff will be in upon the planned reopening on Jan. 3.

“Assume school is on as usual unless I call to close it—just like a snow closure. This call would come to you Sunday evening by 8pm,” writes Natick Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Ann Nolin in her latest dispatch.

The state’s governing education body will allow school closures if too many staff or students are out. It’s possible some schools could be closed in Natick while others carry on based on the data.

“Any cancellation of school, however, will mean a make-up day for instruction in June, just like a snow day. I will seek to minimize closures but ask you to understand that we will all have to be flexible in the coming weeks,” Nolin says.

The state is supplying take-home test kits and KB-95 masks to all school employees in advance of their return to schools. Staff will take tests early Sunday to allow the schools to get a read on the health situation.

Nearby, Wellesley Public Schools has suspended its winter sports season due to a spike in COVID-19 cases, particularly among student’athletes.

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