Baystate Health announced on Monday that masks will be required as COVID-19 cases are expected to increase as the summer comes to an end.
Since 2020, COVID-19 rates have risen every summer during the months of July and August. The chance of infection is more likely at the end of the summer due to weakened immunity amongst some people, officials said. Due to the consistent trend of increasing COVID-19 cases in the community Baystate Health decided to move to its “yellow tier” protocol.
From Aug. 11 through Aug. 17, there were 2,398 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 703 probable COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts. That same week, there were also 17 confirmed and probable deaths from COVID-19, according to Mass.gov.
Masking is not as common as it was in 2020 and 2021. However, since the rise in cases in Western Mass. this summer, more people are suiting up in masks to go about their day-to-day lives.
Chicopee resident Bruni DeLeon said she's been careful since the rise.
“I'm aware, I've been seeing a lot of people with masks. I guess people still are not trusting. They're scared,” DeLeon said. “With everything that's going on in the world today, you have to be cautious.”
DeLeon also said she lost many friends and family members to COVID-19 and that if she finds it necessary, she too will put on a mask again to protect her health and others around her.
And while people could be wearing masks for protection purposes, other Western Mass. residents, like John Houle, believe some people wear masks, because they see others doing it.
“Impressionable, they're impressionable. And then it's also, I think more of a political statement at this point to be totally, 100% honest,” Houle said.
The city of Springfield announced this week that they are now providing free at-home test kits for their residents, made available at the Health and Human Services office and community centers across the city. This comes as schools opened for the school year on Monday.
