Published in the September 24, 2020 edition.

By MARK SARDELLA

WAKEFIELD — Health Director Ruth Clay plans to work with Recreation Director Dan McGrath in an effort to get leaders of the town’s youth sports leagues together for a Zoom meeting to stress the rules for spectators at sporting events in the COVID age.

The discussion ensued at last night’s Board of Health meeting after member Candace Linehan asked Clay for an update on a matter that Clay had brought to the board’s attention at a previous meeting.

At the board’s Aug. 12 meeting, Clay reported that the Wakefield Little League had sent a letter to parents asking that only one spectator per household attend the playoff games. But she lamented that at a game the previous week, “There were a million people there.” It was also noted that some spectators weren’t wearing masks and social distancing was not always being observed.

Clay said that enforcing crowd limits and mask rules is a police issue but added, “They’re not interested in doing it.”

Clay said that she believed the Little league season was over at this point. If it were the beginning of the season, she said, she would have a conversation with the head of the Little League and the coaches and tell them that if they can’t comply, spectators won’t be allowed at games.

It was pointed out that the Little League does have a fall league and there may be other fall youth sports as well.

Board of Health member Laurel Gourville agreed with the approach of getting a Zoom meeting together with youth sports leaders. She observed that it’s easy for people to let masks and social distancing slide, especially when outdoors.

Clay said that she would “just lay it out” and tell them that they “need to police themselves” because the Board of Health does have the authority to say “no spectators.”

Linehan observed that parents are motivated right now to keep kids in school, and any kind of outbreak, even one traced to non-school-related sports, could jeopardize that.

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Gourville noted that the Centers for Disease Control has issued some guidelines for Halloween and wondered if the local Board of Health should also issue guidance for things like trick-or-treating.

Clay said that the state Department of Public Health has issued some guidelines for haunted houses and other Halloween-related activities but has not yet come out with guidance for trick-or-treating.

She said that DPH guidance for trick-or-treating is expected soon and suggested waiting for that. If the Board of Health thinks the DPH guidelines are not strict enough, the board can issue local rules that are stricter.

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Clay noted that there will be four nurses staffing Saturday’s flu clinic at the Wakefield Farmers Market. She said that there will be three separate stations: one for those preregistered for the high-dose vaccine; one for those preregistered for the regular dose vaccine; and a third line for those not preregistered.

Saturday’s flu clinic will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Wakefield Farmers Market in Hall Park on North Avenue.