Melrose Bringing Back Mask Mandate In City Buildings

MELROSE, MA — Masks will be required in all of Melrose's municipal buildings amid a rise of mostly breakthrough COVID-19 cases, the city's health director said Wednesday night.

The Board of Health also voted to recommend to the School Committee that all students and staff are masked indoors.

Health Director Elaine Silva said during a joint meeting between the Melrose and Wakefield Boards of Health that Mayor Paul Brodeur will implement the renewed mask mandate in city buildings beginning Aug. 16.

Brodeur made the decision amid a rise in COVID-19 cases across the country, including in Massachusetts and even Melrose. The city had 29 confirmed cases from Aug. 5-14.

"Throughout the pandemic, our priority has been the health and safety of our residents and employees," Brodeur told Patch. "This new policy is based on the best current information from public health experts."

Most cases are breakthrough ones — people who have already been vaccinated — and few have yielded serious symptoms. Those who were not vaccinated were hesitant to talk to health officials.

The relentlessly contagious delta variant has fueled a new phase of the pandemic, one that is spiking as the school year readies to begin. Students are scheduled to return to school Sept. 1.

"I hate masks as much as anybody, but I also hate where we were gaining ground and now we're losing it," Board of Health member Frank Brinchiero said.

Both Boards of Health, which share a health director, were scheduled to meet next week but the rise in cases prompted an emergency meeting Wednesday.

Patch will update this breaking news story

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.