Beverly Board Of Health Renews Call For Masking Amid COVID-19 Surge

BEVERLY, MA — The Beverly Board of Health on Tuesday became the latest community on the North Shore to encourage residents to mask up when inside public buildings and in large gatherings amid the recent climb in COVID-19 cases.

Beverly's guidance "strongly advising that residents use preventative measures we know help slow the spread of COVID-19" comes amid similar encouragement from the Peabody Health Department and Salem Board of Health in recent days.

There are no new mask requirements across the North Shore at this time.

The Beverly Board of Health said the seven-day average of new confirmed cases in the city is 38.96 per 100,000 residents — which is up substantially from the lows of earlier this spring and last summer, but well below the highs of the omicron surge in December in January.

"While this information may not seem dire, the Board of Health views this data as a concerning trend to pay attention to," the Board of Health said in a statement to Patch.

The statewide positive-test average rose above 9 percent for the first time since January last week, but on Monday the state Department of Public Health reported it had declined back to 8.3 percent.

Beyond masking in indoor spaces or when in large groups, the Board of Health also advised getting vaccinated if residents have not already done so and getting a booster shot if eligible.

The Board of Health also reminds residents who are sick to get tested and stay home and isolate themselves from others.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)