Adams Health Board to Hold Public Hearing on Potential Mask Mandate

ADAMS, Mass. — The Board of Health discussed the possibility of implementing an indoor mask mandate for the town and plans to hold a public hearing on the matter on Jan. 5. 

"I would like to hold a public hearing at our next meeting to consider whether to issue an indoor mask mandate," said David Rhoads, chair of the Board of Health. "There are pros and cons for this, but it would be important that we invite the public. There are a lot of individuals out there that are in favor. And I would like to hear from both sides." 

Rhoads said he wants to have a public hearing to see what the community wants, rather than telling them. A mask mandate, if implemented, would be the second recent COVID-19 prevention measure after the board approved an emergency order last meeting. 

Code Enforcement Officer Mark Blaisdell said he is not sure how effective a mask mandate would be because of how much people travel to and from other communities. 

"I will also say that there are a lot of Adams businesses that do mandate masks for their employees and their customers," he said.

Adams would not be the first community in Berkshire County to issue an indoor mask mandate. Pittsfield's Board of Health voted to initiate an indoor mandate for their community early last month. 

"Several communities in Massachusetts have done so," Rhoads said. "State government is very reluctant to issue an indoor mandate. Some towns have made it a mandate unless an enterprise is fully vaccinated. There are nuances here and there." 

Board Vice-Chair Joyce Brewer said she hopes the board can provide more statistics for the hearing. She said this would help the public understand why a mask mandate might be necessary. 

"I think that was a sticking point with a lot of people last time," she said. "So we need to have all our ducks in a row and make sure that we have a good, solid presentation so people can see." 

Rhoads also gave updates on COVID-19 numbers at the meeting. He described the situation in Adams as being on extreme alert, with 58 new COVID-19 cases in the town between Dec. 3 and Dec. 9 and 129 total since Nov. 21. 

"You can see December last year is like December this year. We have a rise [in cases] going on," he said. "And what happened after the rise, we doubled in January and had a peak last year. And the question is, are we going to see a similar thing this year? We can't see the future, but we can see the past." 

Despite seeing a similar rise to last year at this time, Rhoads said vaccinations will make potential cases much less severe. He said 2000 children between the ages of five and 12 received a COVID-19 vaccination from Berkshire Public Health Alliance. 

"So we're basically through that," he said. "Continue to vaccinate. Boosters are available." 

Also discussed at the meeting, the board heard a presentation on the Berkshire Overdose Addiction Prevention Coalition. Jennifer Kimball, principal planner of public health for Berkshire Regional Planning Commission; Sarah DeJesus, harm reduction manager for Berkshire Health Systems and EMS/Harm Reduction Consultant Stephen Murray ran the presentation. 

The presenters hoped the board could vote to allow a mobile syringe services program in Adams, which could help to prevent overdoses in the community. The board plans to vote on potentially allowing this at their next meeting. 

The board approved the lodging permit for Mount Royal Inn, pending Board of Selectmen approval.

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