The world is looking back at the coronavirus this week, 5 years after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

Natick Report launched on April 1, 2020, about a month after the COVID-19 declaration—we figured people needed a reliable and dedicated news source more than ever during the pandemic.

Our first post mentioning COVID popped up on April 4, when we took a beautiful, social distanced walk around Natick High School, which at that point had become a Grab n’ Go meals pick-up location for families in need, with schools closed as of March 13.

Natick Historical Society, thinking ahead, launched Natick Shares: COVID-19 Community Archive Project. The idea was to collect images and people’s experiences during the pandemic, though we checked this week, and it didn’t get many contributions.

COVID at that point was largely about people’s personal experiences, whether they or loved ones were sick, the challenges of educating kids remotely, the upheaval of work for essential and non-essential workers (as we were suddenly classified).

Oh, and it was about the data. People were hanging on numbers released by the state and town. The colors red, yellow, and green became synonymous with the status of COVID-19 levels.

Frustratingly, Board of Health meetings were rarely recorded and made available to a public hungry for the latest information—you had to catch the meetings live online or were out of luck (we caught as many as we could and reported on them). The town website still has the remnants of a Coronavirus Information page.

All other town meetings went online as well, and today we have a mix on online, hybrid, and in-person, for better (more accessible) or worse (more awkward).

Restaurants were closed for in-person dining, but offered take-out and delivery, which residents patronized to support the businesses and sustain themselves.

By summer, creative alternatives, such as at Lookout Farm, were being introduced for outdoor dining. Restaurants like Buttercup jumped on outdoor dining opportunities as rules relaxed.

Local businesses also took advantage of government loans to stay afloat during the pandemic, and the town gave restaurants a break on license fees.

Natick High Vice Principal Zach Galvin tried to lift spirits by singing ‘COVID-19, you’re wicked mean.’

Others in Natick did their part by making masks and supplying them to front-line workers. The Foundation for MetroWest doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to non-profits helping people through the pandemic. Runners (including marathoners), walkers, and cyclists supported good causes through virtual events. The police did birthday drive-bys for kids until demand became overwhelming. Art projects boosted morale.

Places of worship in Natick loved their neighbors from a distance.

By May of 2020 there were some signs of normalcy: Natick’s Sassamon Trace golf course, for instance, re-opened… though with lots more rules. As summer took hold, there were more positive signs, including the reopening of Morse Institute Library, though with COVID-19, there were ups and downs with access.

Unfortunately, some traditions, like Natick Days, had to be nixed for 2020 (and temporarily, again in 2021). And Natick High’s graduation underwent some big adjustments. As we wrote at the time: “NHS Vice Principal Zach Galvin outlined during this week’s School Committee meeting this year’s vetted and re-vetted plan, all in compliance with state protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the ceremony might appear to be coming from a Place of No (no students marching in, no choir, no band, no handshakes…and no pre-graduation senior picnic), the administration has plotted out an event in close coordination with the town’s health department it hopes will still be enjoyable, and no doubt unforgettable.”

Around the same time, families were required to make the call on whether their kids would return to school in the fall in a hybrid or all-remote format. As the school year went on COVID-19 cases spiked at times (like following vacation weeks), sparking a change in plans for in-person class. Student-athletes were thrown for a loop, as some sports were scrubbed, and others adopted new rules in light of COVID-19 concerns. Tents became common outside of school buildings as a way to get kids and staff some fresh air while eating and learning.

On a grim note, Natick churches rang their bells to remember COVID-19 victims.

As we moved into 2021, the town helped to meet demand for COVID-19 vaccines and the Mall became a mass vax site. Natick celebrated when it scored extra vaccine doses. By March of 2021 a third of Natick residents had at least one shot.

We all started to learn about “pool testing” as well as the school system dove into that.

By spring of 2021, the town welcomed the public back to its buildings. One way to measure the impact COVID-19 had on the town was to consult the 2020 annual report, which featured the term “unprecedented” 7 times in reference to the pandemic’s toll.

By mid-summer of 2021, three-quarters of residents were fully vaccinated per the regular number updates. Masks were still mandatory at that point in town buildings, and would be at Natick schools to start the new school year.

As we headed to fall, more signs of normalcy. Natick Days, which previously had been nixed due to COVID-19 concerns, was on again.

And masking rules at retailers started to loosen.

The town’s mask mandate expired at the end of February, 2022, though the town’s Board of Health kept watch on COVID-19 numbers, which looked to be making a comeback that spring. The fear was that people had let their guard down from “COVID fatigue.” Residents were encouraged to pick up free tests made available by the town.

As 2022 neared its end and 2023 began, much of the attention in town had turned away from COVID. It showed up in far fewer headlines on our site, though school officials, government officials, mental health experts, and local non-profits continued to call attention to the after-effects.

With the COVID-19 pandemic being declared just 5 years ago by WHO, and everyone reading this living through it, many of the memories documented above remain fresh. So too are the impacts, from those lost to the virus or still sick, to businesses that never recovered from lockdowns and employees who saw what they saw on the front lines, to students who suffered from inferior learning and social experiences to schools that now attempt to carry on without the one-time funds supplied by the government during the pandemic.

• Now, thanks to a partnership with Tiny News Collective, you can make tax deductible contributions to support our work.

• Natick Report welcomes letters to the editor

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.

How to advertise on Natick Report

Subscribe to our Natick Report daily email