Wakefield closes city offices

WAKEFIELD — Wakefield is looking to shut down city hall starting next week, according to city manager Robert Brown.

“We’re going to go back to a closure, probably until the peak is done,” Brown told the library board on Thursday. “The health department is saying the peak in the area is anticipated until late January, early February. So we will probably be shutting down until mid-February.”

Loraine Mussatti, president of the library board, asked if that would include pickleball, which takes place in the municipal building gym. Brown said that they will not be shutting down the gym.

“The way that we feel is that our office staff doesn’t have a choice to be there but pickleball does,” said Brown. “The municipal gym will stay open at (the patrons’) own risk.”

He said the office staff will be working remotely during this closure.

According to Brown, Hurley and Ironwood schools are considering going virtual, while Watersmeet already has. “I think they’re going to be going back there,” he said of the local school districts.

Brown said that the city recently spoke with the hospital and they are having issues as there is a really “potent” strain of influenza going around and the omicron variant of COVID-19 is in the area.

—Charity Smith