Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia holds off on mask mandate amid COVID spike; urges residents to get vaccinated, take precautions

Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia said the return of a mask mandate may be necessary if the number of COVID-19 cases does not begin slowing. (Don Treeger / The Republican file photo)

HOLYOKE — Although the rate of positive cases for COVID-19 in Holyoke has doubled since October, Mayor Joshua A. Garcia said Friday he is reluctant to enact a mask mandate — at least for now.

Garcia in a press briefing in City Hall said if the rate of new cases does not reverse direction, or at least slow in the next few weeks, then a mask mandate may necessary.

“If we don’t start to see anything different in the few short weeks, there might be a good chance that we’ll have to order the mandate,” he said.

“It is not necessarily the direction we want to go, but understand that if we have to, my administration will mandate (masks) once we have to.”

The press briefing came one day after Dr. Mark Keroack, CEO of Baystate Health, said shortages of both bed space and personnel at Baystate hospitals reaching a crisis point.

He urged the state to reconsider a mask mandate, a move Gov. Charlie Baker said he is reluctant to make.

COVID-19 hospitalizations climbed Friday to 142 at Baystate Health facilities, the highest level there since January.

Holyoke since Nov. 3 has been under a mask advisory, where mask use is voluntary, except for the city schools where all faculty, staff, and students are required to wear them. The school mask policy is dictated by the state Department of Education and is in place through at least Jan.15.

Individual businesses may require customers to wear masks, and many shoppers are choosing to wear them as a precaution when they enter stores.

Since October the rate of positive cases has more than doubled, from around 50 cases per week to 107 this week. But Health Commission Chairwoman Patricia Mertes said despite that jump, the city is not seeing an increase in the number of cases requiring hospitalization or an increase in deaths from COVID-19 symptoms.

The recent increase she said is entirely due to the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus.

Mertes said that as far as she is aware, none of the new cases have involved the omicron variant that has emerged internationally and in the United States more recently.

Garcia said Holyoke’s vaccination rate is 62%.

“I would encourage the remaining 38% to get vaccinated,” he said.

The vaccination rate for Massachusetts is around 74.9%.

Mertes said 72% of city residents have received at least one vaccination, compared to 86.6% for the state of Massachusetts.

The city is also below the state levels for vaccinations among children.

The city’s vaccination rate for children between 12 and 15 years is 46%, compared to 68% statewide. The rate for children ages 5-11 is 6.9%, compared to 15% statewide.

Garcia said he is aware there are people in the community who are hesitant to get vaccinated and he respects people’s right to feel that way.

If people do not want to be vaccinated, then he asked them to “do the minimum” to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. He defined the minimum as wearing masks around other people, getting a covid test prior to attending any holiday festivities, and insisting that any guests be tested as well. And anyone who is not feeling well or who thinks they were exposed should stay home and not go to holiday gatherings.

“Local governments are in the business to protect the greater good of public health,” he said. “That is why your health and safety and the health and safety of others will be a priority.”

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