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As COVID-19 cases rise in Provincetown, town leaders require masks indoors
PROVINCETOWN – As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Provincetown, town leaders have reinstated an indoor mask mandate.
The Select Board and Board of Health unanimously voted in favor of the mandate during an emergency joint meeting on Sunday, July 25. The meeting was held remotely, and no public comment was allowed. More than 500 people listened into the meeting.
Mandate follows public health advisory
Last Monday, July 19, the two board issued a public health advisory encouraging testing despite vaccination status and the wearing of face masks indoors.
While the issuance of the advisory did lead to some changes in the behavior of community members, it may not have led to the change in behavior town officials was hoping to see, Town Manager Alex Morse said at the beginning of the meeting on Sunday.
Publicize your club meetings, community events and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Free children’s summer food programs to open The Kids Meal Network summer food program will host free grab and go meal
Michaela Chesin, Banner Staff
PROVINCETOWN As the country inches closer to the one-year mark of living with COVID-19, clues to when the threat will end sit in the town s waste streams.
Provincetown is the only town on Cape Cod to track the levels of COVID-19 through sewage, although various pilot programs have been adapted in cities, towns and universities all around the country. Nantucket is also testing sewage for COVID-19.
The wastewater tests help monitor when COVID-19 is stable within the community, or indicative of worsening conditions or an outbreak.
“When you re trying to control a virus, having the information about how much virus you have in your community, or may have in your community is very useful,” Provincetown Board of Health Vice-Chairman Susan Troyan said in a recent interview. “We knew from the beginning, that simply knowing the number of cases diagnosed in the town wasn t the full picture”