AMHERST — As of Tuesday morning, only 15 active cases of COVID-19 are identified in Amherst, based on the most recent laboratory test results posted on the town’s website.
But even though Town Manager Paul Bockelman informed the Town Council Monday evening that Amherst is in a good place based on this current data, the reopening of the three college campuses in town — and the increased testing aimed at quickly identifying cases, isolating individuals and doing contact tracing — could at some point cause a COVID-19 spike.
“We expect to see a change in status at some point,” Bockelman said.
Bockelman pointed to the state’s new community level map, which depicts Amherst in green, meaning that it has fewer than four COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents. Unlike neighboring Granby and South Hadley, which have at least once each been colored in red due to having more than eight cases per 100,000 residents, Amherst so far has kept the case count low.
While most of the testing at UMass is of students, faculty and staff living and working on campus, Bockelman said he is pleased that university officials are encouraging those living off campus, whether in Amherst or surrounding communities, to be tested, many for a second time, at the Mullins Center testing site. This will give insights into the effectiveness of safety protocols, such as mask wearing, social distancing and prohibition on large gatherings.
Bockelman reminded councilors that UMass, Amherst College and Hampshire College have dashboards showing how many positive COVID-19 cases they are finding.
At UMass, umass.edu/coronavirus/dashboard, where 15,114 tests have been administered, there have nine positive tests since testing began Aug. 6.
At Amherst College, amherst.edu/news/covid-19/dashboard, where 9,595 tests have been administered, there have been three positive tests since testing began July 13.
At Hampshire College, hampshire.edu/news/2020/08/21/covid-19-student-testing-program, there have been 821 tests administered, with no positive tests.
Bockelman said no matter whether the positive cases go up or down, he anticipates the town being in the same situation at this time next year with respect to having no in-person meetings and that any reopening of municipal buildings would be limited and done in the interest of protecting the health of employees.
Meanwhile, with Health Director Julie Federman retiring this week after being one of the leaders in the town’s COVID-19 response, Bockelman said town nurse Jennifer Brown will serve as the interim head of the department.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
