Mansfield Board of Health Votes to Join Six-Town Regional Public Health Compact

MANSFIELD — April 7, 2022 — Mansfield Board of Health votes 4-0 to join six-town public health intermunicipal agreement. The board formally accepted the Bristol-Norfolk Public Health Partners IMA at its April 7 meeting, committing Mansfield alongside Easton, Foxborough, Norton, Plainville, and Sharon to a shared services structure funded entirely by state grants for up to 25 years. Health Agent Amy Reece explained that Foxborough holds the lead on a public health excellence grant that will hire a shared food inspector and housing inspector, while Mansfield leads on a contact tracing grant that will fund a shared epidemiologist; all positions are employees of their respective lead towns. Reece also presented COVID-19 data showing Mansfield's daily case rate climbing from roughly 1.5 to 3 cases per day and school case counts rising to 12 students and four staff, flagging low booster uptake among residents ages 20 to 64 as a public health concern. The board took no formal position on a proposed nip bottle sales bylaw headed to Town Meeting on May 19, after Reece noted the draft language contains a drafting error that would inadvertently exclude the 50-milliliter bottles the proposal is meant to restrict.