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Pittsfield public health nurse recommends masking in indoor settings, boosters with COVID rates in the red and other respiratory illnesses abounding

A KN95 mask.
Josh Landes
/
WAMC

Around the country, public school districts are returning to mask advisories and mandates as COVID-19 rates spike following the holidays. Accompanied by other respiratory illnesses like the flu and RSV, some schools in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts are reinstating indoor masking to stem the tide of infection. With communities as close to the Berkshires as Springfield once again issuing masking recommendations, WAMC spoke with Pittsfield public health nurse Pat Tremblay:

TREMBLAY: As far as COVID is concerned, we are still, our incidence rate is still in the red, which means that we have positivity rate that is over 5%. And that we have either greater than or equal to 10 average cases per 100,000 of the population every day. So, that is high. We are also seeing- I don't get the RSV numbers, that's not considered reportable at this point, but I am getting flu information. And we do have a pretty high incidence of flu, mostly type A at this point, every day. So, it can it can vary from, today, we had 18 cases. Yesterday, or Sunday, which was the last day that I was looking at them, it was 39 cases. So, it varies. It comes- Usually I'm seeing anywhere from 15, roughly 15 cases a day, up to, I think the highest I had was 59 cases in the last month.

WAMC: Now around the country – and here in Massachusetts – we're seeing some public school districts once again call for masking in the schools amidst this rise in COVID cases. Given the fact that Pittsfield is still in the red and that we're seeing these spikes throughout the country, any chance that Pittsfield will be issuing any sort of guidance around masking for the children in the schools here?

If we see a spike as we did- Last January was our highest spike and then we had a lower spike in the spring a little bit later, April, May, June time, we might be, recommend that. At this point, there are not huge outbreaks. I will tell you that as we look at our COVID cases every day, we do focus on two populations for more intensive follow up. So, we reach out to those folks to either speak with them, or to send them specific guidance about isolation and quarantine. And those populations are children under age 18 and adults that are 65 and older. So, if we have access to an email, and any case, we look for a phone number we have phone numbers on just about everybody, we have working phone numbers, we’ll reach out and provide some guidance answer questions so that they know how to best protect themselves and their families going forward.

Now, at this point, does your office have any advice to folks in the community given the significant risk of infection from these multitude of illnesses, not just COVID, out there this winter?

Yeah. Again, you know, pretty, pretty simple things. The best things you can do to protect yourself are to be get your boosters for COVID. They're pretty readily available at most drugstores, the hospital has sites in North, Central, and South County. So, get your COVID boosters and get your flu shots. It is not too late to get a flu shot yet. And although they’re reporting on the news that in some areas of the country, the flu seems to be dropping, we're not there yet. So, it is not too late to get a flu vaccine. And then the other mitigation factors would be the typical things- Very good hand washing, 20 seconds, scrubbing vigorously using soap and warm water and washing your hands frequently. Think about high touch surfaces when you clean doorknobs, the TV clickers, light switches, all those kinds of things. So clean regularly, distance where you can and wear masks if you're at higher risk or if you are more comfortable doing that. I am fully boosted myself, I've had my flu shot, but I still, if I go into a department store or a grocery store that's pretty crowded, I regularly put on a mask because I'm more comfortable with that.

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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