Belmont Schools Change Mask Policy: Outdoors Athletes Can Ditch Coverings, Indoors Masks Remain On

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Photo: Athletes no longer need to wear masks playing their sports outside

Effective Thursday, May 20, the Belmont Schools’ COVID-19 mask policy is being changed to follow newly announced state guidelines where students no longer have to wear masks when outdoors, even if the distance cannot be maintained, according to a joint press release from Belmont Superintendent John P. Phelan and Director of Nursing Services Beth Rumley.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced on May 18 that given the low rate of outdoor transmission of COVID-19, the state has updated guidance applying to recess, physical education, youth sports, and outdoor learning environments.

At this time, adults and students must continue to wear masks in Belmont school buildings. All of the Belmont Schools protocols for contact tracing indoors will remain in place until further notice from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and/or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Students will continue to stay in their class cohorts during recess for the time being. However, with lower case rates, this could change in the next couple of weeks. Adults on school grounds that can not socially distance themselves should continue to wear masks.  

Outdoor sports will no longer be required to wear masks. Sports that play/practice inside will still need to wear face coverings. Although these are minimum standards, face coverings can still be worn. Also, encourage social distancing and hand sanitizing as much as possible. For practices, students will practice in cohorts to limit exposure to each other. 

Adults must continue to wear masks outdoors if distancing cannot be maintained.

Here are the new rules for Belmont athletes:

  • Athletes on spring teams in active play outdoors are not required to wear a mask/facial covering.
  • Athletes when they are on the bench or in a dugout are not required to wear a mask/facial covering.
  • Athletes in low-risk sports when indoors where a distance of at least 14 feet or more is consistently maintained between each participant, are not required to wear a mask/ facial covering.
  • OUTDOORS: Spectators and chaperones, coaches, staff, referees, umpires and other officials who can social distance while outdoors, are not required to wear a mask/face covering.
  • INDOORS: Visitors, spectators, volunteers, and staff while indoors are required to wear a mask/facial covering.
  • Athletes participating in high school sports are considered youth and fall under youth guidelines.

Those students who feel more comfortable wearing a mask outdoors may do so. “As a community, we will support and respect all individuals,” read the statement. Students should continue to store their masks as they were doing during masks breaks and lunch/snack. Encouraging the student to bring in an extra labeled storage bag may also be helpfuls has been the case throughout the year.

The final decision for a school to partake in a particular sport and/or to follow more stringent guidelines belongs at the local level.

Belmont Ends Its COVID Emergency Regs; A Month To Plan Reopening Of Town

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Photo: Belmont Town Hall which has been closed to the public for the past 14 months

On the same day Gov. Charlie Baker said the state would lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions effective Memorial Day, May 29, the Belmont Select Board approved rescinding the town’s emergency regulations requiring residents to wear masks and social distancing.

“Belmont will end the temporary regulations to mirror the state’s mask guidelines,” said Chair Adam Dash at the Select Board’s meeting on Monday, May 17.

“The state will just be implementing a new advisory for face coverings that’s going to replicate what the CDC guidance is around face coverings for the moment,” said Diana Ekman, assistant director of the Belmont Health Department. Residents who are fully vaccinated don’t have to a need to wear a face covering indoors except under certain circumstances such as schools, using public transportation, visiting child and elder care settings, said Ekman.

Those who have yet to be vaccinated should continue to use mask, said Ekman. In addition, Belmont business owners can still require customers to wear masks.

The town and the board can now begin the work to reopen town’s offices and revert back to public meetings once the Massachusetts state of emergency – in effect since March 10, 2020 – is lifted on June 15, approximately a month after Monday’s meeting.

“So we have a lot of planning to do in a very short amount of time,” said Dash. “We’re going to have to start meeting in person sooner than later which overall is a good thing except we weren’t really prepared” as Baker said last month it would be mid-August when the state of emergency would be retracted.

One event that will not take place will be Town Meeting which will take up the budget segment beginning June 2.

Town Administrator Patrice Garvin said after speaking to Wes Chin, Belmont’s health director, once Baker issues the order to lift the emergency order, “Town Hall will most likely be open.” As for a return to board and committee meetings and the open of locations such as the Beech Street Center, “we have to figure this all out,” said Dash, which will include maintaining a virtual presence at meetings which have been popular and a success in upping public participation.

“It’s going to be a bit of a transition back to the old ways with hopefully some taste of the new ways … but we have a little time to play with it.”

COVID Update: Half Of Belmont Is Vaccinated; Out Pacing State, US

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Photo: CDC vaccination card and sticker

Belmontians are outpacing their fellow state residents and US citizen in stepping up and being fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

As of the week ending May 11, approximately 51 percent of all Belmont residents are fully vaccinated, having received two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine or the one shot Johnson & Johnson dose, according to Diana Ekman, assistant director of the Belmont Health Department. Statewide, 47 percent of Massachusetts residents are fully vaccinated while 37 percent of US citizens have all their shots.

Belmont has recorded a total of 1,139 positive cases of COVID-19 since March 2020 with 80 deaths attributed to the coronavirus.

Nearly 2/3 of all residents (66 percent) and 84 percent of adults over 20 have received least a single dose of the vaccine, which can reduce household transmission of the virus by up to half. In Massachusetts, 63 percent and nationwide 48 percent of adults have had one shot.

For older adults in Belmont, the rate for those 65 and older to be fully vaccinated has reached 82 percent while 88 percent of 65-74 and 90 percent of those 75 and older have had received one shot.

“We got most of the folks in that category,” Ekman told the Select Board at its Monday, May 17 meeting.

While the number of children and young adults representing those 19 and under who have obtained the vaccine remain quite small, “[w]e have heard anecdotally from folks in the schools that there’s been a really good uptake rate in the older group of teenagers that been eligible for a little while and we hope that continues in the 12 to 15 groups as well,” Ekman said.

Belmont COVID Numbers, Rates Move Lower; Town Starts Vaccine Helpline

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Photo: Belmont has begun a vaccine helpline for those needing help to schedule a shot.

The number and rate of infection from COVID-19 in Belmont has take a pronounced drop in the past month, shadowing the national trends, according to data from the Massachusetts Department of Health.

As of Friday, Feb. 12, there were 23 new COVID-19 cases from the past week, a marked reduction from the peak a month earlier.

Date reportingNew cases in the week Change from the previous week
Feb. 1296723
Feb. 594440
Jan. 2991452
Jan. 2286263
Jan. 1579962
Data: Belmont Health Center

Belmont also saw daily rate of infection per 100,000 residents over two weeks fall from a high of 41.2 on Jan. 15 to 16.2 on Feb. 12, the lowest rate since Dec. 4 when it stood at 14.6.

Currently Belmont remains in the state’s designated “yellow” zone which indicates the town is not at as much risk as red communities, but are still being monitored for their higher than ideal infection rates. 

Belmont’s confirmed cases has reached 967. Deaths have stayed steady at 77.

Belmont Starts Helpline

The Town of Belmont has activated a COVID-19 Vaccine Helpline call center to assist any residents who either do not have a computer or who may not feel comfortable using one to schedule appointments for vaccines. Currently residents 75 years old and older

To reach the center located at Town Hall, call 617-993-2606 or 617-993-2626, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. 

The individuals staffing the line can assist with registering those currently eligible for available clinics, whether that is a Belmont-Arlington clinic or a larger state run clinic or pharmacy. They can also answer questions about vaccine registration, and add names to the town’s vaccine interest list for those who would like to be contacted for our small local vaccine clinics.  

COVID Update: Positive Cases in Belmont Nearing 1,000

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Photo: Update on COVID-19 in Belmont

Belmont is closing in on a stark milestone of 1,000 COVID-19 cases, according to data from the state’s Department of Public Health.

As of Jan. 29, 914 confirmed COVID cases among Belmont residents have been reported, an increase of 64 cases since Jan. 22.

Due to the new case count over the past two weeks, Belmont remains in the state’s Yellow zone, according to the new color designation metrics in which there are 10 average cases for 100,000 residents or less than five percent positivity over two weeks. Currently, Belmont has a positivity rate of 3.01 percent.

In the school subset, a dozen people – including students and staff – were tested positive with the coronavirus over the past week. Those include nine at Belmont High School, five at Chenery Middle and four at the Wellington. The total positive cases associated with Belmont schools now reads 115.

After examining year end death certificates in the beginning of January , there have been a total of 74 COVID-19 related deaths in Belmont, confirmed by that data filed with the Town Clerk’s Office. 

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) continues to provide weekly reports on Thursday of COVID-19 data by city or town as part of its Dashboard for COVID-19 Cases, Quarantine and Monitoring. 

With COVID Cases Rising, Belmont Town Buildings Will Be Closed Through Jan. 3 If Not Longer

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Photo: Belmont Town Hall

Due to the rising number of positive COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts, all Belmont town buildings with the exception of the Police Headquarters will be closed to the public effective Monday, Dec. 14.

The closure will last into the New Year until Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, and may be extended.

The Belmont Public Library will continue to serve patrons outside of the building as well as virtually.

In an email to residents, town officials said “the town will continue to provide the same high level of service that our residents and businesses have come to expect.”

A directory of the Town Departments can be found online at https://www.belmont-ma.gov/departments and the phone numbers of all offices have been posted on the doors of the Town Hall and Homer Municipal Building.

‘Good Chance’ Belmont Will Have A Role In COVID Vaccine Distribution

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Photo: Vaccinations are underway for COVID-19. (Wiki Commons)

With the need to provide approximately 600 million doses (two per person) of the COVID-19 vaccine in the US, it’s likely that Belmont’s health infrastructure will be part of that massive effort in 2021.

“There’s a good chance we will play a role in the local distribution [of the vaccine],” said Wesley Chin, director of Belmont’s Health Department when he spoke to the Select Board on Monday, Dec. 7.

Chin said the state has informed cities and towns the vaccination protocol will have three stages with local boards of health involved in the final phase which is be focused on jabbing the general public.

On Wednesday, Dec. 9, Gov. Charlie Baker announced that the state’s first shipment of approximately 60,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be delivered on Tuesday, Dec. 15 going directly to 21 hospitals across the state.

At Wednesday’s press conference, Baker announced the state’s distribution plan, saying the first phase of 300,000 doses will be distributed in mid-December through mid-February to health care workers, those employed in long term care facilities, first responders and people working in congregate care settings.

The second round of nearly two million vaccinations will take place starting in mid-February and lasting through mid-April. That supply will go to those individuals with two or more comorbidities – high risk for COVID-19 complications – a group including teachers, transit personnel, grocery and food workers and public work employees, and those over 65.

Beginning in mid-April, the vaccine will be available to the general public.

Belmont Returns To ‘Yellow’ As COVID-19 Cases Surge In-State and Town

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Photo: COVID-19 update.

As the United States experiences the most significant surge of COVID-19 cases since the coronavirus was first identified in February, Belmont has seen a similar increase in the number of positive cases over the past 14 days as of Dec. 3, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.

Sixty-three residents were diagnosed over the past two weeks as a total of 427 Belmontians has been infected by the virus since February, which comes to a biweekly rate of 14.6 infections per 100,000 population, both indicators increasing over the past two week period.

Over the fortnight, 3,703 residents were tested with 63 positive cases, a rate of 1.7 per 100,000 population.

There are now 97 communities considered at the highest risk for transmitting the new coronavirus in Massachusetts, according to the latest weekly community-level data on the pandemic, an increase of 16 

The jump in the number of cases resulted in the town re-entering the state’s designated “yellow” range indicating a moderate risk of being infected. Belmont had been in the “green” range for more than a month, having spent a week in the yellow range earlier this fall.

For communities with populations of between 10,000 and 50,000, a yellow designation has an average of more than 10 cases per 100,000 or a positive test rate of more than 5 percent.

Breaking: Belmont Schools Return To Remote Learning For The Week After Thanksgiving

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Photo: Belmont School District headquarters on Pleasant Street.

Saying the Belmont School District was “making a decision regarding the safety of students, educators, and families,” Belmont Schools Superintendent John Phelan announced that all Belmont students will transition to the remote schedule for the week following Thanksgiving, Nov. 30 to Dec. 4.

“It is not a decision we take lightly,” said Phelan. “While we wish we did not have to make a decision, we are confident it is the safest choice during this time of increasing transmission rates, nationally, state-wide, and locally.”

Elementary and Middle School pupils will revert back to the remote plan from their current hybrid schedule and the introduction of the hybrid model for Belmont High School students scheduled for this week will be delayed.

Pre-K and LABBB will remain in-person for the week. Transportation for those programs will continue as regularly scheduled.

In an email to the Belmont community, Phelan noted the decision was based on six factors relating to the safety of students, educators and families.

“The decision for any school district cannot hinge on a single factor, but rather on a consideration of all factors taken together,” said Phelan.

Those factors include:

  1. Communication with families regarding their travel and hosting plans.
  2. Analyzing our staffing data to get a sense of educators’ travel and hosting plans.
  3. Coordinating with available substitutes.
  4. Seeking the advice of the Belmont Health Department
  5. Networking with other superintendents in the Middlesex League athletic league
  6. Discussing this topic publicly at our Nov. 24 School Committee meeting

“It is our hope that by being proactive and strategic in the short-term we will avoid difficulty in the long-term,” said Phelan.

As Belmont Moves Back To Green, Schools Reports 5 Positive Cases In November

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Photo: Back to green for Belmont in coronavirus cases

After a week in yellow, Belmont has returned to the state designated safer green level of COVID-19 infection, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in its weekly coronavirus update on Friday, Nov. 6.

The total number of positive cases in Belmont increased by 24 to 308 total cases (since March 13) in the past two weeks, according to the MDPH, resulting in a 4.4 average daily incidence rate per 100,000 over the same period which lies within the state’s green level, which indicates a low risk of infection within the community.

In the view of the state, Belmont has seen “No Change” in the number of new cases occurring over the current two-week period ending Nov. 5 compared to the previous two-week period.

In the first week of November, the Belmont School District reported five new cases at its six schools.

On Nov. 2, two members of the Belmont High School community (they can either be staff or students) were confirmed to have COVID-19. Both individuals were remote (not in the building) and unrelated to each other. In addition, each did not have contact with others in the district.

Three cases were reported on Nov. 5, one at Belmont High School and two at the Chenery Middle School. While the person at the high school and one of the cases at the middle school were not in the buildings and not in contact with others, the second middle school case was at the school and was in close contact with others. Those who were in contact with the person are in quarantine for the next two weeks.