WAKEFIELD —There are currently 71 confirmed COVID cases in Wakefield, according to the town’s online COVID Dashboard and information shared during last Friday’s weekly COVID update conducted via ZOOM.
Friday’s call featured new Health Director Anthony Chui, the town’s Communications Director Jennifer McDonald, School Superintendent Doug Lyons, Town Council Chair Julie Smith-Galvin and Vice Chair Mehreen Butt.
Chui reported that the average number of daily cases in Wakefield was three, which he said was an improvement over the previous few weeks. The positivity rate is 3 percent, he said.
Seventy percent of Wakefield residents are fully vaccinated. According to the age breakdown on the town’s COVID Dashboard, 71 percent of those age 12-15 are fully vaccinated. In the 16-19 age group, 83 percent are vaccinated. Sixty-six percent of those age 20-29 are fully vaxed, while those in the 20-49 age group are at 80 percent. Local resident age 50-64 are vaccinated at a rate of 85 percent, 64-75-year-olds are at 87 percent vaccinated and those over 75 are 75 percent vaccinated.
Chui said last Friday that the Health Department would like to reach out to those on the fence to encourage them to get vaccinated.
Chui also provided an update on Pfizer booster shots. He said that those over 65, people with underlying medical conditions and employees of long-term care facilities who received the two-dose Pfizer vaccine are advised to seek out a third, booster dose after six months. Chui added that he expects to see the vaccine approved for those age 5-11 soon.
School Superintendent Doug Lyons provided the COVID numbers for the schools. As of last Friday, there were 19 active cases in the schools, Lyons said, including 16 students and three faculty members. The breakdown by school was: seven students at the Galvin Middle School, one student at the Greenwood School, one student and two staff members at the Walton School, three students at the Woodville and four students and one staff member at the high school.
Lyons said that 135 students and one staff member are currently in quarantine because they were either sympomatic or were considered “close contacts.”
The school mask mandate has been extended until at least Nov. 1 by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Lyons noted. By mid-November, districts with a vaxination rate over 80 percent may re-assess their mask requirements.
Due to the Columbus Day weekend, McDonald said that there would be no COVID update this Friday. The updates will resume on Oct. 15.
