 And there are two attendees. Okay. Pursuant to Governor Baker's March 12, 2020 order suspending certain provisions to the open meeting law, general law chapter 30A, section 18, this meeting of the Board of Health is being conducted via remote participation. So I'll have a roll call to make sure everybody is here and their video and audio is working. So John. Here. Tim. Here. Steve. Here. Maureen. Here. Nancy. Here. Okay. So the meeting is being recorded to the web and can be shown on Amherst media and the broadcast. So today's meeting is a special Board of Health meeting to review the July 27th emergency order on mandatory wearing of masks in Amherst, which was effective August 3rd, 2020. Our regular Board of Health meeting is scheduled for next Thursday, May 13th. At that meeting at five o'clock, we're gonna have a public hearing on the regulations prohibiting smoking and vaping in workplaces and public places. And then our regular monthly meeting. So this meeting is open and we don't have any minutes because we're just doing commonwealth, the mandatory wearing of masks or face coverings in the part of town of Amherst. Now that the governor has changed the state regulations. Does anybody have some comments on this? Maybe Emma, do you have something to say? Cause as you called the meeting. Yeah. I just wasn't sure who should go first. So if we're looking at recent case trends over the last week, we've had 14 cases in the town of Amherst, 13 of which were, sorry, five of which were UMass and nine were town of Amherst, which is less than last week, last week was 18. When we look at our population and the amount that are currently vaccinated about, we have good numbers with those that are 50 and over with vaccine that they fully are fully vaccinated. With that being said, the largest proportion of town, 43% of the population is between 20 and 29 and only 7% of those are fully vaccinated and those that are under 19 years old make up 28% of the population and only 2% of those are vaccinated. Coming soon is UMass's big commencement. They, with the relaxing of the governor's orders, large stadiums, the capacity has increased from 12% to 25. Originally UMass was not planning on doing details for traffic, but they are now have now announced that they're doing their normal traffic corralling if you will for commencements. And each student is allowed to invite two people for the graduation and there's more than 6,500 graduates. There will be four ceremonies at McGurk, which as we all know has a capacity of 17,000. UMass currently has 23 active cases, three were new. And I know that Northampton just relaxed there, mask mandate, I think we are similar to Northampton, but also a different community. I know that Northampton has Smith College, which is certainly one smaller college. And we have the large University of UMass as well as Amherst and Hampshire colleges. Other towns and cities that have continued their local mask mandates for outdoors currently are Chatham. The city of Salem and Brookline as well. If we just wanna think we would not be the only community currently holding on to this. So I do get concerned with a large influx of individuals coming into town, possibly not being vaccinated. We've also heard that lots of individuals are thinking about parties and events. We've had inquiries about gathering sizes and that still their small gatherings are permitted, but people are pretty vocal that they're gonna be exceeding those gathering limits. So with all of those things coming together, I was hoping to call this meeting. So that way the Board of Health could have a time to discuss the local mandate and that way we can make sure that we are able to communicate with our community and our institutional partners before their events this coming month. Comments from Board members. I just ask a question. So our local mandate is still in effect despite what the state did, right? Yes, correct. And have you got, you at the Board of Health has it been pressure to lift it? There has been lots of communication to the Board of Health to my email lately on a number of different topics, but yes, this is one of them. Wait a minute. So has there been pressure to lift the ban from you by citizens asking the health director this town to lift our local ban? That's my question. I have not heard from more than a few citizens to lift the ban. How about the other way, asking or being worried about lifting the ban? I know that I've kind of had some short informal discussions with people, kind of polling their ideas. Most of those, most of my communication and contacts are at clinics with our volunteers and explaining their rationale for why we would want to keep it. People seem supportive of that through the month of May and then lifting it or re-evaluating it at the end of May. Once we know the students have, the ones that don't stay in town have moved to their home. Once those large events have subsided and the density in our area will decrease. And I have spoken to several ambassadors and also Rick Peltier from the University of Massachusetts School of Public Health whose area is masks. And the ambassadors were very concerned, especially they said down near the spoke in the north section of downtown, they're already seeing students gathering and they thought it would really be detrimental to lift the mask mandate until after graduation. And Rick Peltier said, he thought it would behoove us to keep it in place. But we've been doing it for so long, once another three, three or four weeks to promote safety, especially because this is a population that would not be wearing masks that are probably not vaccinated. A larger percentage of them are not, will not be vaccinated yet. I have one or two little questions. One is, are we talking about the downtown area or we certainly made a kind of blanket thing to include like parks and, didn't we? I can't remember. So is, I thought it was all in all public places in Amherst and I just wondered if it, where we were with that. No, if you look on the order, it's number three and it's that specific order of, it says the town of Amherst starting at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue. Okay. So it's the downtown area. Okay. Just want to make sure, because I remember being concerned about going to like, like recreation areas and things like that. Cause I think that was a more general thing. But the other question I had is, do we know what the university and the colleges themselves are doing? I did take a walk at Hampshire that still has the signs up that say please wear a mask. So I just wondered what the colleges themselves, if they've changed anything with the governor's. Yeah. The colleges have not changed their practice. They are requiring in, in alignment with gatherings and commencement events with the safety standards for masks are required at all times as with social distancing, which is terrific. But I even outside. I mean the same. Like, Is it anywhere on campus basically? That, that's what I was last told by Amherst College by Emily Jones. Okay. Last spoke to the Ambecker, but things are changing every day. And unless I have that writing in front of me, I don't want to miss. Okay. Yeah, I believe Amherst College definitely is all, is just as strict as before. And their commencement, which is on May 30th. We'll have extreme restrictions on the numbers and so on and their students really aren't even allowed to go into town and won't be until the end of the. Until they call go home. Yeah. The governor's says that masks should be worn at all times indoors and in public places outdoors when six feet cannot be maintained and at all times at any event so they're still in, they're still in place. My concern is now with outdoor dining, and if people in groups are walking up and down North Pleasant Street and South Pleasant Street without masks. If they take them down. People are not going to be six feet apart. The argument is that people will feel more comfortable if there is any inclination on part of the few parents that are going to be coming to go into town wouldn't they feel maybe more secure if there was a mask requirement. I was encouraged to be by one of the leaders of the ambassadors, the coven ambassadors that I spoke to up during the clinic and that person also said Emma you would probably know if this is true or not it might just be a rumor. This person said that the town has many more of those signs that they would put up to really mark the area that. Yeah, yeah. Before last leading into last weekend with the farmers market I was in communication with Gilford the head of the DPW, and they did find more signs and we're putting those up for the downtown area. You have to wear a mask at the farmers market I went to that and everybody had a mask. I had made the required mask size from root nine on South Pleasant through North Pleasant up to triangle on North Pleasant East Pleasant, and then from prospect Street basically the historical society over to the police station, and take away the whole street and Lincoln Avenue but then Emma said, you know that's, we have this area it's been on the map. So, why change the area. The more I thought about it. I think that would confuse people a bit I think this order, the way it stands has been in place for some time I think there's more of a general understanding. In our public and then also the ambassadors that would be out able to help people understand the order if they're from out of town and just aren't sure about it. If we do decide to continue is there a mechanism, I mean we wouldn't be meeting until you know mid June or something again and it might be quite reasonable to rescind it after May 31. Without having another meeting or something can that be done, or do we even want to think about that. Say we're resending it as of June 1 today I suppose that I don't know that may send the wrong message. Keep it in place until our June meeting. Yeah. Okay. Which that would be June 10th right. It's just 10 days after. Yeah, yeah. I think that would make it easier because then we can evaluate what's going on. So, so basically we decide not to do anything, right, not to resume the. We could even have a vote to affirm it because some people might say why are you doing this it's extreme and so on. But I mean we're all here we all seem to agree if we could even formally say that if make sure that no one has an objection on the board of health. Do you want to make a motion. I don't know if we really need that that is over kills John says we, it is ineffective. I certainly am in support of us maintaining. Do you want to make a motion to that was there any more discussion. I think if anyone speaks, if no one speaks up to say we should drop it then that's clear that we're keeping it. Emma, do you think the board needs some other action. So looking at the influx of individuals that are going to be coming into our area. The information that we've heard in terms of people planning gatherings beyond the limits that are still currently in place in backyards that are a maximum of 25 people. At the same time, the thoughtful thing is to keep it in place until those events finish. You think we need a motion or need to state anything or just, we've had this meeting we've decided and we, you, if you're asked or anybody's asked we can say that. Yeah, I think that's sufficient. Do we need to open the meeting for public comment Nancy. Yeah, we can. Yep. Let's see do you want to do that. Yeah, because you're the host on this. Yeah, so yeah, open it for any public comment. There we go. So I'm not. So if I don't see any raised hands. Yeah I don't see any raised hands if people have a public comment. There's one night there's one. Yeah, I'm gonna allow Lisa to talk. There you go. Hello, welcome. Thank you so much and I always feel really bad when I try and when I try and go to another meeting because like this is your area this is the board of health I'm just over here as a resident. I'm not speaking for the town council at all. So as a resident I was really excited. I had audio problems at the beginning so I didn't hear every word of your brilliant deliberation but I have heard most of it. And I was really excited to see how you thought it through in terms of all the different pressures Amherst has versus lots of other communities and the fact that you guys were bold last year in terms of making this decision early on. And I'm very proud and happy of what you're doing right now I think revisiting it in June is great rather than prospectively saying well it'll probably be fine if we lift it in June, because we just don't know right and so getting through the end of May with all those ceremonies I think is terrific and the one thing I was going to suggest that you might want to consider is. So kudos for the decision thank you so much is you might want to consider just putting out a brief press release on the town website that says, we're continuing until we revisit in June, just so nobody's confused. But I think that the zone you outlined then is been perfect and not altering it and keeping it through June so thank you so much for all your work and thinking through all the possible ramifications. Thank you, Lisa. Thank you. Any other comments from attendees. I don't see any other hands. Okay. So if there's no other public comment. And the board has decided to maintain the order in effect to reevaluate at the June Board of Health meeting at five o'clock on June 10. I feel better if we have a motion of what Emma just said and that we make one. I can't make the motion you can't make it when someone makes the motion that we're maintaining or I can I make the motion. Yes. I'm making the motion that we maintain our order that's been went in effect on August 3 to mandatory mask wearing. In the part of town, the map is on the site until our June meeting, which we will read deliberate what we will do with that. That point. Do we have a second. I'll second that. Okay, all in favor, john. Hi, Tim. Hi, Steve. Hi, Maureen. Hi, Nancy. Hi. It's unanimous. It's official. Okay, well thank you everybody. And we'll see you next week at our regular board meeting. All right, take care. Good night.