ATHOL — “We’re definitely headed in the right direction.”
With those words, Athol Public Health Agent Deb Vondal began her COVID-19 update to the town’s Board of Health at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
“The case count has continually gone down,” she said. “In the month of January, we were in the high 400s, in the 500s, but as of last week we had 75 active cases, and as of today we have 54. Of those, nine are 18 (years old) and under, and four of those are 5 and under.
“Our vaccination rate is pretty stagnant at this point. It hasn’t changed, essentially, in three weeks. We’re at 71 percent of the population receiving at least one dose, and for the primary series — the full primary series — we’re at 63 percent. The state is at 88 percent for the first dose.”
In response to a question from board Chair Marty Miarecki, Vondal confirmed that the 71 percent level was hit after seeing an increase of about two percent several weeks ago.
“The reason why the 71 percent is going up overall,” she said, “is because the kids are getting vaccinated.”
The positivity rate in Athol also continues to decline.
“We were at 18 percent last week, and we’re at 11.32 today,” she said. “But, still, we’re higher than the state. The state’s average is three, 3.9. So, we continue to be a hot spot but are continuing to go down.
“Orange, their positivity rate was 14 percent, Phillipston was 12.9, Templeton 10. Winchendon, at 8.79, went way down.”
Vondal added an addendum to those figures.
“These are state certified,” she continued. “These are verified cases, and so many people now are using the home test kits, so the actual figures may be different. We’ll just hope it continues to go down.
“There’s been a question two weeks in row on our DPH (Department of Public Health) call, somebody was asking, ‘Is there a reliable way to predict trends?’ and they said ‘no.’ Any of the predictive models have been off because of the variants. We were surprised by Delta, and the Omicron. They basically said forecasting for trends is unreliable.”
That, she said, essentially leaves local health departments to make decisions based on whatever data they have at hand.
“It’s basically transitioning from what was an emergency response to COVID to how do we live with it day to day?” said Vondal. “It’s down to personal responsibility. It’s also knowing your own risks. Vaccines are still preventing hospitalizations and deaths.”
On Tuesday, Feb. 15, the state relaxed its mask mandate, saying in a statement released to the media and the public, “In light of recent improvements in COVID-19 indicators, DPH now advises that a fully vaccinated person should wear a mask or face covering when indoors (and not in your own home) if you have a weakened immune system, if you are at increased risk for severe disease because of your age or an underlying medical condition, or if someone in your household has a weakened immune system and is at increased risk for severe disease or is unvaccinated.”
In light of the state’s action, Athol’s Board of Health voted at its meeting to endorse the DPH’s advisory, urging residents to follow the new state guidelines.
“After Thanksgiving and going into the holidays,” said Vondal, “our case counts were so high, and the state was saying, ‘Oh, it’s all up to the locals — what you want to do.’ So, we put in our own advisory, but the day we did that the governor — finally — did the same thing. So, we basically piggy-backed on that.”
“I think we kind of have to get back to normal,” said BOH member Raenette Kramer. “I think that’s the goal. Everybody has had enough. We want to get back to normal and do it safely. If you have health risks, don’t risk it; wear a mask if you feel like you’re compromised going out.
“And if you’re sick, stay home and take care of yourself. Don’t go to work.”
Vondal added, “If you test positive for COVID-19, you still have to isolate for five days, and then days six through 10 wear a mask when you’re out in public. And there’s some nuance there. It doesn’t mean you can go to a restaurant and go out to eat, because then you have to take off your mask. If you need to go to work, go to the grocery store, wear your mask for those five additional days because you can still be infectious.”
It was also pointed out that even though masks will no longer be required in the classroom after Feb. 8, masks are still mandatory on school buses and in school nurses offices.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com