WEST SPRINGFIELD — With a large number of retailers in town and the start of The Big E looming, the Board of Health is considering a face mask mandate to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Dr. Heather Sankey, the board’s chair, said at a special meeting of the board on Wednesday that she feared the Sept. 17–Oct. 3 fair could become a super spreader event.
“It could hurt our town in a big way. I’m very worried about this,” Sankey said.
She noted attendance was low at the recent World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast in downtown Springfield, adding she hoped the fair would not draw excessively large crowds.
The Board of Health is planning a public hearing days before the start of the fair and could vote soon after to require masks indoors and at large outdoor events after that hearing. The hearing has to be legally posted 14 days in advance.
Board members also agreed to ask those planning large gatherings to submit a COVID mitigation plan to the Health Department.
The Big E, which drew more than 1.6 million visitors in 2019, has extensive guidelines and protocols in place for staff, vendors and visitors on its website. Guests who are not fully vaccinated are encouraged to wear a mask or face covering while on the fairgrounds.
A mobile vaccination clinic will set up shop at the fair.
Hampden County is last in the state for vaccinations to prevent COVID-19.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Baystate Health was caring for 84 hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
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