For many Andover families and residents, a variety of activities and services will be starting up this fall. Countless people have put endless hours into planning for safe school reopening and other activities.

The Andover Emergency Management Department would like to encourage the use of face masks by residents, visitors, and employees of local businesses, so that all of this hard work doesn’t go to waste.  Currently, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services recommends:

“…all Granite Staters wear cloth face coverings when outside of the home to help slow the spread of COVID-19. This advice is based on new data about how COVID-19 can spread before a person has any symptoms. A mask helps protect others around you if you are infected and don’t know it.

“A cloth face covering is one more precaution we can take to help slow the spread of COVID-19 – and is not a substitute for physical distancing and other prevention measures. You still need to stay at least six feet away from people, even when wearing a face covering.”

In addition, the Governor issued Emergency Order #63, which requires face coverings be worn for “scheduled gatherings of 100 people or more for social, spiritual, and recreational activities, including but not limited to, community, civic, public, private, leisure, faith based, political, or sporting events; parades; concerts; festivals; conventions; fundraisers, and similar activities; where individuals are gathered in the same place at the same time.”