WEST SPRINGFIELD — The Board of Health has instituted a mask mandate for the city starting Friday morning, the same day that The Big E opens its doors to the public for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Only two members of the board were present for the virtual meeting Wednesday, chairwoman Dr. Heather Sankey and Dr. Nathan Somers, and both voted in favor of the mandate. Board member Rachel Greenway was not present.
“I see reports four times a day working very closely with our epidemiologist and our infectious disease specialists in terms of how (COVID-19 is) affecting my patients and other patients in the hospital, so I know that we are in the middle of a fourth surge and it is not getting better,” said Sankey, an Baystate Health obstetrician.
West Springfield’s mask mandate will go into effect at midnight Friday. It requires face coverings in all indoor public places, as well as private places open to the public, regardless of vaccination status, for those 2 and older.
The mandate will affect New England’s largest state fair, but it is aimed at protecting more than just the fairgoers, Sankey said.
“The Big E is not the only big event in this town,” she said. “We have people traveling from other states to come to Costco or the hockey arena or whatever event we are doing, and it’s very important that we protect everybody throughout all of this.”
More than a dozen speakers gave their thoughts on the proposed regulations prior to the vote. From a mother of four children in the school system to local business owners, a majority of them spoke strongly against the mandate.
Patrick Tabb, whose family owns Olympia Ice Center, said the venue is the biggest supplier of traffic to restaurants and businesses in the city throughout the year.
“I have been operating successfully through COVID. We pay over $150,000 a year in property taxes. If you are putting the mask ordinance into place you are eliminating over 50 to 60% of our business,” Tabb said.
He said adult leagues refuse to wear masks when playing on the ice.
“We will lose our tournament business,” he said.
Tabb also asked who will help his employees make sure customers are wearing masks.
“How quickly is the police going to come when my employees are being assaulted when trying to enforce the mandate?” Tabb asked.
Isaac Santana, owner of Kung Fu Studio in West Springfield for the past 20 years, said the coronavirus has greatly affected his business.
“We have kids go in and get lightheaded from trying to work out with the masks on,” he said. “They have dirty, slimy masks they can’t breath through. We can’t communicate with them, we can’t see if they are OK or not, we can’t see their faces.”
Santana said he has made masks optional for families.
“We have had zero outbreaks at our studio. I urge you to consider the small businesses that support this town when making this decision,” he said.
Two people spoke in favor of the mandate.
Resident Arlene Rucinski said she knows people who have become very ill and ended up on ventilators due to the coronavirus, as well as someone who died from the virus. She said she works at a manufacturing facility that has a mask mandate and it helped keep her and her co-workers safe.
“From my personal experience I do say masks work,” she said. “I understand they are an inconvenience to people and not a fun thing to do, but ... the delta variant is different than the previous strain, it’s much more contiguous. Anything at all that can be done to prevent the transmission of this variant I am in favor of.”
Resident Diana Coyne also spoke in favor of the mandate.
“These are prudent and proactive measures to protect the citizens of this town,” she said.
The mandate includes but is not limited to restaurants, bars, indoor performance and event venues, hotels and motels, gyms, fitness clubs, salons, places of worship, and common hallways in residential dwellings or commercial settings.
The Big E drew more than 1.6 million visitors in 2019 but was canceled last year because of the pandemic.
For this year’s fair, it already listed on its website extensive COVID-19 guidelines and protocols for staff, vendors and visitors. Guests who are not fully vaccinated were encouraged to wear a mask or face covering while on the fairgrounds.
In an interview after the hearing, Baystate Health president and CEO Dr. Mark A. Keroack said the best way to prevent COVID-19 is to be vaccinated.
“There is no doubt about that, but there is a very strong and a growing body of evidence that masks provide an extra layer of protection on top of vaccination whether you are vaccinated or not,” he said. “There have been a number of large studies showing that masks prevent outbreaks.”
Keroack said people should consider the risk factors before attending The Big E this year.
“If you’re vaccinated and you are going to the fair, you certainly should wear a mask if you’re indoors in a crowded space like one of the state buildings or the Better Living Center,” he said. “If you’re outdoors or in a well-ventilated building like the livestock buildings and you’re vaccinated, I don’t think a mask is that important.”
For those who are unvaccinated, his suggestion is to hold off on attending the fair this year.
“If you are not vaccinated the best advice is not to go to The Big E. If you’re not vaccinated and you still decide to go, you would be best advised to stay away from crowded buildings like the state buildings, instead go to the midway and livestock buildings,” he said.
A complete copy of the proposed regulation may found at townofwestspringfield.org/government/departments/health. It can also be obtained by calling the Health Department at 413-263-3206.
Hampden County remains last in the state for vaccinations to prevent COVID-19. As of Wednesday afternoon, Baystate Health hospitals were caring for 93 COVID-19 patients, with 17 in critical care.
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