Northampton Board of Health lifts most COVID restrictions
A box of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine vials on display during a press conference with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, in Longwood, Florida. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS) Joe Burbank
Published: 5/26/2021 9:36:13 PM
NORTHAMPTON The city will declare an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency and lift nearly all pandemic-related restrictions for vaccinated individuals on Saturday, the Board of Health announced Wednesday.
With the announcement, Northampton joins other communities deciding to follow state guidance to drop most emergency restrictions May 29.
Once these restrictions are lifted, vaccinated residents will no longer need to wear masks in most outdoor or indoor settings, with some exceptions: Masks will still be required in health care facilities; congregate care settings; public and other shared transportation; and in preschool through secondary ed
Published: 5/11/2021 4:16:52 PM
The harms caused by the response to COVID-19 are now worse than harm from the virus. More and more people across the country and many more across the world are coming to that conclusion.
Locally, however, a discussion is lacking about the risk-reward calculation or how to make a determination of when/if the emergency can be considered over. At the beginning of the crisis, the Northampton Board of Health erred on the side of caution and declared a state of emergency on March 20, 2020, granting its director authority to act unilaterally, whereby she ordered numerous restrictions and orders governing social and economic activity. The state of emergency remains in place to this day, along with many of its attendant restrictions.
Northampton City Council backs call for new community care department of unarmed emergency responders, urges mayor to follow suit
Updated May 12, 2021;
Eyeing ways to rethink public safety, the Northampton City Council voted last week to endorse a series of recommendations that, if implemented by the mayor’s office, would change the face of law enforcement in the years to come.
At its most recent meeting last Thursday, the legislative body passed a resolution offering support for a slew of recommendations made by the Northampton Policing Review Commission in its final report released in March. The document, titled, “Reimagining Safety,” laid out more than a dozen proposals that aim to shift certain emergency response responsibilities away from law enforcement.
3 days ago in Local Photo: WHMP
(Northampton, MA) Starting today, face masks are no longer required to be worn outdoors in Northampton. The Northampton Board of Health says that outdoor facemasks are no longer required when six feet of social distancing can be maintained. Masks must still be worn indoors or in any situation where social distance isn’t possible. Easthampton this week also eliminated its outdoor mandatory mask zone.
BOSTON (AP) – Massachusetts will begin expanding walk-up COVID-19 vaccination opportunities as it tries to make it easier for residents to protect themselves against the disease. Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday that beginning Monday, four additional mass vaccination locations will begin offering walk-up shots. He said other sites are already offering vaccinations without appointments. A COVID-19 field hospital at the DCU Center in Worcester is expected to close for good within the next couple of weeks. The 220-be
Northampton Board of Health: City health board grateful for director’s leadership
Published: 3/9/2021 5:00:28 PM
The Massachusetts state COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been frustrating at best, and infuriating and potentially life-threatening at worse.
For Northampton’s Health Director Merridith O’Leary, the COVID-19 pandemic and the state vaccine rollout have presented huge challenges, one after another, and she has repeatedly risen to the occasion to meet and conquer those challenges on behalf of the residents of not only Northampton but the entire region.
Earlier in the pandemic, Director O’Leary and her team took on contact tracing for towns that did not have the ability to mobilize the necessary staff and know-how. She offered her expertise to local governments, schools, and businesses, and arranged for a COVID-safe shelter for the houseless population. Recently, she and her team took on the immense challenge of offering a local vaccine clinic, and repeatedly neede