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BERLIN, NH (WMUR) — New Hampshire’s northernmost city is considering a mask ordinance as COVID-19 cases rise across the state.
Berlin Mayor Paul Grenier said the city mostly managed to avoid the first wave of the coronavirus over the summer, but over the past couple of weeks, COVID-19 cases have been rising, and he said the time has come for a mask ordinance.
The city council will consider a mask ordinance Monday night. Gernier said there are 25 active cases of COVID-19 in the city, and health officials have launched contact tracing investigations.
“Thank God for that, because we think we have it encapsulated, but we’re not sure, and that’s why we’re going to institute a mask ordinance,” Grenier said.
State epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said masks are a major component in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19, which is spread primarily through respiratory droplets.
“That’s partly why cloth face coverings are an important means of controlling spread, because they decrease the dispersion or the spread of a person’s respiratory droplets,” Chan said.
The mayor called the ordinance common sense. It would require people to wear a mask in businesses or if within 6 feet of someone. It’s also a work in progress. Under the current proposal, children under 10 are exempt from wearing a face covering, but that might be lowered to 4.
“Because there’s a requirement within the Berlin school system for in-person learning that students wear masks,” Grenier said.
The penalties for violating the ordinance are also up for debate. Grenier said he hopes the ordinance will raise awareness among people in the city who might have become lax when it came to COVID-19 precautions.
“That was a southern New Hampshire problem. That was a big-city problem,” Grenier said. “Guess what? It’s here now.”
Berlin’s mayor said while he doesn’t think the vote will be unanimous Monday, he believes the mask ordinance will pass.
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