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Amherst Town Manager: UMass Students Could Spread COVID-19 Without Off-Campus Rules

The UMass Amherst campus.
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The UMass Amherst campus.

The town manager for Amherst warns that the influx of UMass students in the fall could spread COVID-19 in a town that, up until now, has had relatively few cases. He's asking the university to change its reopening plan to avoid making things worse.

Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman said town leaders were not asked to weigh in on the reopening plan, including the decision to allow students in campus housing, even if they're only taking online classes.

He's frustrated that students living off campus won't be subjected to the samesafety rules as those on campus, "which in my mind would lead many students to either want to live off campus or to seek their entertainment off campus, which creates issues for the town," Bockelman said.

In a letter to the chancellor (PDF), Bockelman urged UMass to require students living in town to follow the same rules around social distance, masks and COVID reporting as those living on campus, and to enforce those rules.

Bockelman said his concerns should not be interpreted as unwelcoming to students. Normally, he said, "I love when they come back in the fall. I love the vitality that they bring to every endeavor when they're involved in town government."

But at the same time, he expects many younger people won't take mask-wearing and social distance seriously enough, and they could contract COVID-19 and spread it widely.

"Everyone shops in the same grocery stores, goes to the same pharmacies and walks down the same streets," he said.

He said he's worried the local hospital and emergency services could be overwhelmed with a new spike in cases.

A Umass spokesman said the university is still reviewing the letter.

Meanwhile, Bockelman said Amherst police are preparing for what they expect will be many more calls from residents who see students congregating without masks or distance.

Karen Brown is a radio and print journalist who focuses on health care, mental health, children’s issues, and other topics about the human condition. She has been a full-time radio reporter for NEPM since 1998.
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