Wakefield Students, Staff Should Mask Up: Local Health Officials

WAKEFIELD, MA — Local health officials are recommending the School Committee mandates masks for students and staff.

The Board of Health unanimously voted Wednesday night to recommend the order after Superintendent Doug Lyons asked for guidance with students returning to class in less than a month.

Lyons said just shy of 1,000 students from ages 12 to 19 still need to be vaccinated. Most students up to 6th grade are not vaccinated as no vaccine has been approved for children under 12.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recommends masks for students ages 2 to 12 indoors.

"I think the most important thing right now ... is the school system, because they're going back in, and the majority of these kids are not vaccinated," Emergency Management Director Tom Walsh said.

Town Administrator Steve Maio also endorsed the schools recommendation, but decided against instituting a mask mandate inside town buildings.

It was announced Wednesday night that a mask mandate for municipal buildings is going into effect in Melrose next week.

Wakefield has confirmed 55 cases since July 1. Most 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. 9.

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