Dalton Council on Aging Waits Until May to Lift Masking
DALTON, Mass. — The Council on Aging decided last week to postpone any recommendation to lift the its mask mandate. Members will re-evaluate and discuss it again during their next meeting in May.
The opinions of the council were divided evenly. Some members believed that since their clientele is more vulnerable to the novel coronavirus, they should be extra cautious.
Others argued that other places are no longer requiring face coverings and that they have seen their patrons not wearing masks in these other establishments so the decision should be left to the individual.
"Part of me says we still serve a really vulnerable population, but it's fair to say the vulnerable population goes and sits in the pews at churches," said Director Kelly Pizzi. "They go to Dalton restaurants and go to the coffee shop and then they come here and they have to learn to mask.”
Members said this is a difficult and controversial decision because of how quick things change with COVID-19. The councilors brought up the fact that there is a new variant and that parts of China are going back into lockdown so they should be cautious making this recommendation.
Pizzi said the number of individuals forgetting their masks when coming into the building is increasing because the mandate has been lifted at other establishments.
These individuals have to go back out to their car and get a mask or use one of the masks that the center provides. Meal sites, kitchen staff, servers, and other staff are still required to wear a mask.
Members also argued that masks do not always prevent individuals from getting the virus even when they are vaccinated.
Chairman George Morrell referenced the experience of a fellow councilor who contracted the virus despite the fact that she wears a mask everywhere and is vaccinated.
Assistant Clerk Yvonne Washburn said the Senior Center had come to her rescue when her husband had heart surgery at Bay State Medical Center in Springfield.
"They said the minute he goes in for this procedure, I had to leave the building, not just go in the lounge. Security would take me out of the building. What was I supposed to do, stand outside?" she said. "I had no vehicle. Dave Luciere got back into the van and drove all the way back to pick me up and bring me home. I think that is above and beyond the call of duty. It's a wonderful thing to have this center here."
The councilor who was infected had planned to provide transportation but after testing positive neither she nor her family members felt comfortable doing so.
To help Washburn and her husband, the Senior Center used the new vehicle it had recently purchased for longer trips to transport him. Pizzi said this was the first medical trip that the vehicle has made, which further justified the purchase.
In other business on Wednesday, the council voted to change the meeting time to 3:30 p.m. rather than 6. This unanimous decision was due to many members feeling like it was too late and is around the time most individuals eat dinner.
One member raised the concern that if a new younger member chooses to join then the time could conflict with their work schedule.
Despite this concern they decided to vote to change the time with the possibility of changing it again in the future if there is a conflict with any new members.
Tags: Council on Aging,
