Lowell has instituted a new indoor mask mandate effective today. According to Monday’s article in the Lowell Sun, numbers are up significantly:

“Today at Lowell General Hospital, the two ICUs are full and two other floors were converted to ICUs, just like in April and May of 2020. There was a day last week that the nearest ICU bed to Lowell was in Virginia,” Galvin said. “The reason I’m here today in support of this is anything we can do to slow it down. If I can prevent one person from coming to the hospital needing a ventilator that we can’t give one, I’ll do it.”

I know a lot of us have been enjoying a more relaxed attitude regarding masks in the common areas—including myself—but please be aware that the situation has changed for the worse. Masking up is an important tool to help keep us all safe and I’d like to put out a personal plea for everyone to keep that in mind when in the building’s common spaces, especially enclosed ones like the elevators and mailroom.