Mayor Linda Tyer had her monthly discussion with "Slater and Marjo In The Morning" on Thursday. Some topics that were discussed included, the delta variant of COVID-19 and the upcoming school year, the latest on North Street's redesign, plans for the old Tyler St. firehouse, and the 3M Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge.

With the Delta variant of COVID-19 on the rise and the start of the school year right around the corner (Sept. 1), the mask discussion is alive and well.

While the Delta variant is apparently more transmissible, what we are seeing in terms of severity of illness, and hospitalizations, yes people are hospitalized but they're not on ventilators or in the ICU...So, as more and more people become vaccinated, we are becoming more and more protected, yes there are breakthrough cases, and I think we have to accept that that is going to be a part of our healthcare experiences now, but when it comes to opening our schools, and what should we be doing today to best manage and mitigate the impacts of the Delta variant is to make sure we are taking care of the most vulnerable, seniors etc...but on the other end of the spectrum are our kids in school who are not yet eligible for vaccination, right, so they are at higher risk, so putting protections place to protect the most vulnerable is really something we should be focused on. I expect that in our next (school committee) meeting, we will be discussing masks. I'm going to advocate for masks in school, especially for that 12 and under student population that are not yet eligible for the vaccination, so I think that's an important element on top of the other things that we are going to do in school which is really good air ventilation and a really strong regiment of cleaning and disinfecting, proper social distancing, all of those things will remain in place. - Mayor Tyer

Superintendent Joe Curtis will be on "Slater and Marjo In The Morning" on Aug. 24, to outline the coronavirus protocol for the upcoming school year.

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